Sammy is a Chicano teen living in a barrio in New Mexico called Hollywood, the irony of which is never far from the surface of a novel about Sammy and his friends, and how they make the transition from boys to men during an exceptionally trying time in U.S. history. The story is set in 1969, and the Vietnam War always looms as a threat, while racism and the violence and poverty in his neighborhood define Sammy’s daily life. When Juliana, the love of Sammy’s life, is brutally killed by her father, the loss triggers painful memories of Sammy’s mother’s death years earlier. Both women have strong, positive influences on Sammy even after their deaths. He is also buoyed by a positive, caring father and sister and motivated by a genuine interest in doing the right thing according to his Catholic faith. His religious journey is authentic, full of questions that are never answered. Instead, the world sends him mixed and confusing messages about his potential and who his friends are. Sammy is smart—the other kids call him The Librarian—but he faces constant reminders that he is a spic, “an animal,” and destined to end up right where he is. While the graphic violence and strong language make this a book for older readers, none of the content is gratuitous. Rather, it is indicative of the anger and oppression Sammy and his friends feel. One by one Sammy’s friends are taken from him, through death, the draft, and painful family decisions. There are several delightfully hateful adults, including a priest and a teacher who give Sammy plenty of opportunities to learn to rely on himself and his family. While the many deaths are depressing, the ultimate message is how hope and memory combine to free even the most tormented soul. Readers who speak Spanish will enjoy the juxtaposition of two languages throughout the novel. (Ages 15-18)

The "Hollywood" where Sammy Santos and Juliana Ríos live is not the West Coast one, the one with all the glitz and glitter. This Hollywood is a tough barrio at the edge of a small town in southern New Mexico. Sammy and this friends--members of the 1969 high school graduating class--face a world of racism, dress codes, war in Vietnam and barrio violence. In the summer before his senior year begins, Sammy falls in love with Juliana, a girl whose tough veneer disguises a world of hurt. By summer's end, Juliana is dead. Sammy grieves, and in his grief, the memory of Juliana becomes his guide through this difficult year. Sammy is a smart kid, but he's angry. He's angry about Juliana's death, he's angry about the poverty his father and his sister must endure, he's angry at his high school and its thinly disguised gringo racism, and he's angry he might not be able to go to college. Benjamin Alire Sáenz, evoking the bittersweet ambience found in such novels as McMurtry's The Last Picture Show, captures the essence of what it meant to grow up Chicano in small-town America in the late 1960s.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz--novelist, poet, essayist and writer of children's books--is at the forefront of the emerging Latino literatures. He has received both the Wallace Stegner Fellowship and the Lannan Fellowship, and is a recipient of the American Book Award. Born Mexican-American Catholic in the rural community of Picacho, New Mexico, he now teaches at the University of Texas at El Paso, and considers himself a "fronterizo," a person of the border.