Courtney's review
Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez
Courtney's review
rating:
bookshelves: booktalk-this, coming-of-age, memoirs-and-journals, multicultural-nonfiction, non-fiction, young-adult
status: Read in October, 2007
rating:
bookshelves: booktalk-this, coming-of-age, memoirs-and-journals, multicultural-nonfiction, non-fiction, young-adult
status: Read in October, 2007
Luis Rodriguez speaks out of a virtually unheard experience: a young Chicano man who survived "la vida loca" gang culture in South San Gabriel. Rodriguez' writing is raw and brutally honest, but with a lyricism that will stop readers in their tracks. He gives voice to an unheard cry, and illuminates the heartbreaking cycle of poverty and violence that perpetuates gang wars. He neither simplifies the problem, nor admits defeat. His passion for reconciliation and true empowerment of minority communities, such as the Mexican American community, is staggering. I found this truly challenging and convicting -- particularly as I have reevaluated my approach to library outreach for teens. Read this.
[Booktalk this!: 8th-12th graders]
[Booktalk this!: 8th-12th graders]
