Matt de la Pena’s third book, We Were Here, will be released from Random House in October 2009, and with it, his writing skill and storytelling art has reached a higher level of excellence. Rich, exquisitely detailed, thoughtful and thought-provoking, this powerful book will reach readers in their heart of hearts and grab ahold.
Miguel’s the smartest kid in Juvi. His cellmate, Rondell, can’t even read. When he gets to the group home where he’s been sentenced for a year, Miguel decides all the guys there are posers and weaklings, and he certainly isn’t going to rap with the goofy, surfer-dude in charge of the home. Whenever he thinks about what happened before, Miguel shoves his feelings deep down and fights hard to keep from letting any emotion to the surface. His only release is the journal the judge sentenced him to write in to help the counselors figure out how he thinks and the books at the group home library that he starts reading to pass the time. (And as an aside, I loved how Miguel talked about reading: “…I decided what I like about reading books. When I’m following what a character does in a book I don’t have to think about my own life. Where I am. Why I’m here. My moms and my brother and my old man. I can just think about the character’s life and try and figure out what’s gonna happen. Plus when you’re in a group home you pretty much can’t go anywhere, right? But when you read books you almost feel like you’re out there in the world. Like you’re going on this adventure right with the main character. At least, that’s the way I do it. It’s actually not that bad. Even if it is mad nerdy.”)
But after a few weeks, Miguel and two other guys break out and start a summer-long trek to Mexico where they hope to start over and forget what happened to them before. Their journey is more than the physical miles they traverse from San Jose, CA to the US/Mexico border south of San Diego; in the tradition of many great on-the-road stories that have come before, their simple escape sometimes brings them profound discoveries, without being overly sentimental or contrived.
de la Pena crafts a story full of earnest emotions, harsh realities and believable teenage characters. Every one of them faces challenges and obstacles as they come to terms with the fact that there isn’t a clear line dividing good and evil; instead, it’s one baby step that can change the path of someone’s life forever. Since their lives have all been changed by those little steps, they have to find a way to forgive themselves and be more than the mistakes in their past. As we get to know Miguel and the other guys, even if our life experience is totally different from theirs, we see ourselves in them and want them to find some peace.
- Posted by Cori
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