Awards

• Winner of Americas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature (Grades 8-12) 1999

Overview

In this novel in verse--unprecedented in Chicano literature--renowned poet Juan Felipe Herrera illuminates the soul of a generation. Drawn from his own life as well as a lifetime of dedication to young people, CrashBoomLove helps readers understand what it is to be a teen, a migrant worker, and a boy wanting to be a boy. Sixteen-year-old César García is careening. His father, Papi César, has left the migrant circuit in California for his other wife and children in Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for her son with dichos and tales of her own misspent youth. But at Rambling West High School in Fowlerville, the sides are drawn: Hmongs vs. Chicanos vs. everybody vs. César, the new kid on the block. Precise and profound, CrashBoomLove will appeal to and resonate with high school readers across the country.

Full Product Details

9780826321145

Table of Contents

Reviews

"Herrera paints a devastating, yet ultimately hopeful portrait of Cesar Garcia, a 16-year-old Mexican teen growing up in the American high-school culture of Fowlerville, California. . . . Cesar is the classic example of America's throwaway teen, a young man constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time who, because of his language and cultural differences, becomes more and more marginalized. It is also the story of an educational system that can occasionally make the difference in both teens' and adults' lives and futures. . . . a roller-coaster tour de force, remarkable for its ebullient portrait of hope and survival. A must purchase.""—Booklist, starred review"

aHerrera paints a devastating, yet ultimately hopeful portrait of Cesar Garcia, a 16-year-old Mexican teen growing up in the American high-school culture of Fowlerville, California. . . . Cesar is the classic example of Americaas throwaway teen, a young man constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time who, because of his language and cultural differences, becomes more and more marginalized. It is also the story of an educational system that can occasionally make the difference in both teensa and adultsa lives and futures. . . . a roller-coaster tour de force, remarkable for its ebulliant portrait of hope and survival. A must purchase.a

Author Information

Juan Felipe Herrera is professor of Chicano studies at California State University, Fresno.

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