Afuera: A Young Latino's Journey

by Marcelino Rosas

Growing up isn't easy, and no one knows that better than Roberto. Raw & Gritty, Afuera follows Roberto, a young Latino man who comes into his own by being everything his tradition & culture tells him not to be. He struggles to understand & attempts to hide, that which is in his heart. From the outside, he seems to have the perfect life, but in fact, it's all a lie. In a dramatic turn of events, it eventually all comes apart, but through sheer guts & determination, & his willingness to succeed, he triumphs over this darkness & starts a new life for himself. Both a coming out story of a young man's difficult relationship with an abusive father & a look at modern teenage life, from school to sports to sexual conquests, Afuera shows readers - young & old, of any race - that even if they have a dark side, even if they don't fit in the way society wants them to, they have goodness inside of them, & all they need to do is let it out.

Genres: LGBT

226 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2013

About the author

Hi. My name is Marcelino Rosas I'm 24 years old and my general goal in life is to make a positive contribution to the world and achieve anything and everything I set my mind to. I am an international male model and I’ve been very fortunate to have my work published throughout Europe, Australia, and also here in the USA. Please refer to the "Awards" section of my profile which lists my achievements to date. Since modeling is such a great passion of mine, I aim to continue on this road of success, continuously challenging myself to be the best I can be and never settling for second best. As a model, physical fitness and a healthy life style is important to me, and I've also set myself high goals for what I want to achieve in the gym and how I want to sculpt my physique. I've always been active in the sporting circles, particularly soccer and played at club level. My latest passion is cycling and I'm training for a triathlon sometime in the future.

As a Los Angeles native, I love California, but I also enjoying travelling on photo shoots and vacations, meeting new people, working with the best in the industry, making new friends and experiencing everything this culturally diverse world has to offer.

Besides modeling, I’m also a writer and I've recently completed my first novel (soon to be published). I love reading and the movies and I'm a collector of rare photography books, magazines and DVD's. My collection is continuously growing and I'm constantly on the look out to add more to it.

taken from the author's facebook page

Reviews

[Pete Dematteo · Rating 4 out of 5]

the word usage was so incredibly simple, indeed. Mr. Rosas is a carbon copy opposite to the likes of the acclaimed novelist Andrew Holloran his utterly simplistic mode of writing was almost a defiant slap in the face and defiant rebellion to the wordiness and pedantic usage that all too many authors burden us with. popping illicit but exciting boners in the shower, despising any queer that had an effected, effeminate manner, chasing anglo suburban jocks who were hopefully bicurious, agressive soccer matches, the obsession with the gay status quo of those with exaggerated masculinity galore, i didn't know whether the protagonist was, in fact, in a great deal of pain, or merely had manic highs and lows. then, there was the mexican immigrant father to contend with and the strangely accepting but most welcomed grandparents. he writes a little letter, i presume, to queer teenagers, saying that it definately gets better. but does it, really, until one becomes either impotent or elderly and no longer has the excuse that being gay makes it acceptable to be utterly promiscuous? this book is from a different galaxy than is CHULITO, about some chilly, ghettoized Puerto Rican from the South Bronx who sticks with his own kind.

[Valen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gay coming of age novel with Latin American protag.

Acceptable Spoilers Ahead, Such As Character Development, etc...

Hard to rate, really. It reads like a lot of it is autobiographical, which is cool.
The writing is sparse, but Rosas has the ability to convey a lot with very little, which is the sign of a true talent. However, I didn't love this book like I hoped. It was too quick. Things were glossed over and resolved quickly. I mean, about 15 or so years pass in 220 pages (less actually, since the pages had giant margins with large print so more like 90 pages tbh) It just, well, the MC, Roberto, was really ugly then matured and was so HAWT that all the girls wanted to have sex with him (and did) and all the guys gawked at his beautiful mug. All the guys he liked, ended up liking him back, which, just nope (and also had the most giant penises ever). Or at least showed sexual feelings/inklings for him, in one way or another. All the girls (except two) who didn't want to bang him where annoying and he was always jealous of them and called them sluts for getting the guys he wanted, which *sigh*.
His high school soccer team accepted that he was gay like it was a freaking Disney movie - actually no, a Disney movie wouldn't have been so bubblegum sweet about it. The other soccer team hated him because he was gay, so that made up for it, in the reality department I mean. He was the best if not one of the best at almost everything he did - I mean, not for lack of hard work, but still he was a supreme athlete, a scholar and the hottest guy like ever.

His dad was a monster and his mother was weak and these all rang incredibly true and had nuisance. I mean, his father was evil in a way that is VERY real. He was a full-on garbage person who even when he tried to be good, would never admit how evil he was or apologize for the EXTREME abuse, so Rosas did a wonderful job with that.

Some things just seemed way too convenient, but if any of it was based on reality, like I think, than never mind, 'cus if it happened, then it happened, so my gripes are irrelevant. I mean Roberto goes through it, all around, but a lot things also just fall into his lap.

I liked this book. It is in need of an editor, I wish it would have been MUCH longer and less glossed over, with more character development (at one point he has a relationship with a guy named Hunter that lasted for nearly two years, but took all of five pages and I REALLY wanted that to be more of bulk of the book, because from what I read, it was great and interesting). Roberto is really judgmental, but he does grow and actually calls himself out on being so judgmental so that really is a good thing.
I'm not sure. I liked this book, but I was expecting to LOVE it, and I just didn't.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2013 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)