This book was one of those really fun roller coasters. At times I was upset and cried. At other times I was flying high with Junior and laughing. Junior (or Arnold, his white name) is one of the funniest protagonists I have ever had the pleasure to meet. However, Junior's life is also one of the roughest I've ever encountered in a book. It is filled with poverty, despair, and conflict. This book not only dealt with multicultural issues such as culture and identity, it also dealt with normal teenage issues like bullying, friendship, dating, and dreams.