Gary Soto Books

I like the book because it was very interesting for me. It reminded me of my parents who work in the fields. How they come home hungry, tire and dirty. When my family and I came here we didn't had anything any family who could help us out. My family suffered a lot. When I was reading the book I got into it because the same reason I felt like there were talking about my family. In the end it got more interesting because Jessie talk about her life how she helped Cesar Chavez. I think they did a lot for all Mexicans people. I enjoyed reading the book.

This is an outstanding portrayal of an amazing woman, why have we never heard of her before? Soto does an outstanding job of tracing Jessie's life and realistically tracing her accomplishments and triumphs as well as her set backs and disappointments. How can anyone do so much in so little time? We always hear of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, yet this woman has never come into view. Now we can read all about her, thanks to Soto. This will be a best seller for sure. I think it is written for school age students but as an adult I marveled at its quality. Soto gives her the respect she deserves.

Soto recreates many poems from his Fresno background in this anthology, drawing poetic elements from the barrio & neighborhood of his past, and grafting upon them keen observations of worldy matters. Pieces such as "As it is" & "Taking Things Into Our Own Hangs" provide moral statements through poetics; these are messages that ring with a contemplative nature and thoughtful tone. "How Things Work" is one of his more sentimental works, somehow capturing the wonderment and curiosity that children have with the workings of their expanding, continuing world. All of Soto's creations reverberate with a strong ethnicity and capture the reader of poetry with rhymes and technique.

I liked the book because he used spanish and the Mexican kids can read some of it. He wrote about one thing and it always turned out to be another thing. That's why I liked this book.

This book encompasses a a variety of short attention-grabbing and motivating short coming of age stories. The book is slpit up into 4 categories each of which contain about 4-5 stories. Those include "Fitting In" , "Family Matters", "Affairs of The Heart", and "Crisis." My personal favorite has to be A Bag of Oranges. It is worth it just to buy the book for that story! The book not only includes this but 20 more coming of age short stories. This book really stands out from the rest! Armed with this knowledge, I would say making the decision to buy this book is a no-brainer. Buy the book and an extra copy to give to a friend! That friend will thank you!

By the author of short stories "Mother and Daughter" and "The Broken Chain," these twenty-three poems recall Soto's years growing up in Fresno, CA and later as a father. His memories mix with metaphors everyone can relate to as he recalls his love of baseball, shyly flirting in the library, and being too broke to treat his date to a candy bar. He remembers trying to earn money to go to the movies by selling oranges door to door, accompanied by a helpful dog. The poems are written in free verse, and the poet introduces each one with a note explaining the circumstances that inspired him to write it. In the Foreword and Question and Answer section at the end, Soto gives kind and helpful advice to those interested in writing their own poems.
This a very accessible and thin volume of poetry with wide appeal.

As a librarian I am always looking for books for Lation Kids. The short stories in this book are fun. Great characters and plots. Latino teens will enjoy reading this particular book!!!

Silver, a 39 year old down and out poet doesn't have a lot to get excited about...until a letter arrives inviting him to speak at a literary conference in Spain. There's just one problem, Silver is broke, not to mention homeless, unemployed, semi-estranged from his mother, and trying hard to avoid the cops and past debtors hot on his trail. Oh yeah, and his last poetic "hit" was almost two decades ago.

The letter, however, has reawakened some old dreams. Silver's inner poet and lover have come back to life and are longing to express themselves. And they do, in an unsentimental, but hopeful and charming way. Is Silver named for the bright lining he detects behind every ominously dark cloud? Will his spirit help him survive in the face of depressing odds? Will love thrive even as friends and family pass away?

Silver's street philosophy and undaunted hope will engage the reader as will his love and lust for a former sweetheart - now middle aged, widowed and overweight. The less than perfect characters have flaws we can all identify with and Silver's self awareness, honesty and big heart will have readers rooting for him. I loved this book.

I can easily say that "Buried Onions" is one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. This book was written by Gary Soto. This book to me was meant for people that like to read good books in a short period of time. WARNING the following paragraph may contain some sentences that might spoil your reading.
This book is about Eddie a young adult trying to find a good future for himself. He juggles with multiple ideas like going to the military, college, or he could just stay in the same life dragging himself to survive. I recommend this book to all people in general because this is such a good book everyone will like it. Thanks for reading this review and I hope to see you reading "Buried Onions" by Gary Soto in the future.

Eddie's home in Fresno, California, is not exactly a happy place for him. At nineteen, he's dropped out of college, he has lost more friends than he can count to the violence that is abundant in his hometown, and his aunt is after him to avenge his cousin's death.

Eddie, unlike most of the kids he grew up with, is trying to earn an honest living, and maybe even get out of Fresno someday, and away from all of the violence that has been his life so far. But that's harder than it sounds, when you've got no money and very little education. No matter how hard Eddie struggles to change his life, people around him are always pulling him down--and there are few exceptions to that rule.

Buried Onions is a fairly quick read, but there's a lot to it, and it stays with you long after the last page.

Eddie in particular is one of a cast of three-dimensional, interesting characters whose lives are probably very different from that of most who read this powerful novel. The characters bring this sorrowful, hopeful story alive, as does Gary Soto's obvious talent for choosing just the right words to keep the reader interested in what he has to say and to get his point across eloquently.

Armchair Interviews says: Buried Onions is an honest, thought-provoking novel that should be a required reading for everyone.

In the book "Buried Onions", Gary Soto lets us wonder our minds and making us see how hard it is for a nineteen year old man, Eddie, trying to get away from all the violence that Fresno, California has to offer. Eddie with all the pain that he feels and all the sorrow that he feels also since his Father and his brother and now his cousin are all dead, He now wants a change in his life and with all the problems that he passed he finally reconsiders his coaches request for him to join the Marines.

Ana Garcia from Torrance, California

Have you ever wonder what the life of a Chicano youngster is? Do you know how hard it is for a 19 year old guy to try living a normal life when everything around him wants to turn him into a criminal? Do you enjoy action, guns, gangsters, gangster girls and sex in a book?
Well, if you answer yes to any of this question the book you should be reading is Buried Onions is just perfect for you. The book portraits the life of Eddie, a young guy, who only wants to work but everyone expects him to get revenge against the killer of his cousin, Jesus. Eddie had a really hard time. "To lay open my heart with all its problem, I could have gone to a priest with pleats of wisdom on his brow". This is a part of the book in which he really doesn't know what to do. All the advice the people are giving to him wont lead him to any good. Everyone around him wants to go and kill the killer of Jesus. It is so hard on Eddie that he cant even have sex with a girl when the named of his Eddie knows that violence will only lead him to more violence. You should read it to the end so you could find out the twist at the end of the book
This to me is a wonderful book. It is a book that once you started reading is almost impossible to let it go. The whole book will have you thinking what will happen next. You will get so into it that for moments you will forget that is a book, and you would think that it is real life. If you will ask me to rate this book from a scale o 1-10 I will with no doubt give it **10**.

It's a sweltering summer and the streets of Fresno stink: like violence and onions. "This onion made us cry. Tears leapt from our eyelashes and stained our faces." Nineteen-year-old Eddie lives by himself in a decrepit apartment downtown where he is barely surviving the heat of the sun or his neighborhood. Simply living is enough to render him lethargic, but not just on account of the heat.
Having dropped out of City College, Eddie now makes a paltry living painting addresses on the curbs of rich Fresnons. There isn't much money left at the end of the day, so Eddie fills his stomach with little more than Top Ramen and cheap soda. Though he is doing his best to stay clean, trouble keeps seeking him out in his hood. Gang bangers want to jump him, a client thinks Eddie stole his truck, and his aunt wants him to knock off a cholo who supposedly killed Eddie's cousin. Growing violence and danger mixes with the heat and, in a state of near deliria, Eddie is forced to make a choice between staying in town and possibly being murdered, or escaping the only way he knows how.
Through the doubtful hero Eddie, Buried Onions depicts the narrow space between improving one's life and giving up completely. Author Gary Soto employs the setting of a highly Chicano-populated metropolis in order to illuminate the dangers and temptations waiting around every corner of the city to attack Chicano youth and drag them into disgrace-gangs, drugs, mindless sex, homicide. To Eddie, these menaces are like the vapors of a giant onion growing beneath the streets of the agricultural-oriented city, threatening to choke the city's population with hopelessness and hate.
Although Eddie often feels this sense of hopelessness in life, and although a great deal of unfair things happen to him, Eddie keeps struggling to overcome his lethargy and the rank of the onion. He hopes to separate himself from the foul fates of so many of his Chicano friends and neighbors.
Soto does not insult his readers with a blissfully happy ending. Indeed, Buried Onions proves a raw and difficult read. Yet, Buried Onions does give us a hopeful promise: free will. Soto illustrates that, even if our better option is not of the gilded Hollywood variety, even our smallest choices can give our lives direction.

Chato's Kitchen is a wonderful children's story. Is fun and entretaining. I'm an adult and I just love the drawings.

I think every parent and school teacher should share this story with the children.

Chato is a character in more than one Soto book. He is an urban cat who looks Hispanic and, frankly, a little sleazy (his cat friends likewise have mustaches and wear gold chains and wife beaters). When a family of ratoncitos (mice) moves into the neighborhood, Chato hatches a scheme to invite them to dinner. They will be dinner, of course.

The mouse family reluctantly accepts the invitation, thrilling Chato and his friend, who hasten to begin preparing side dishes to go with the mice. But when the mice arrive on the back of their dog friend, the cats are frightened into toeing the line for the rest of the evening.

This Pura Belpre award winner includes what appear to be acrylic illustrations featuring thick, black outlines and lots of purple morning glories. I suspect there is more in the illustrations than meets the unpracticed eye. For instance, a group of birds seen several times are celebrating a wedding. There is a religious-looking shrine set up in Chato's house. And when the cats first encounter the dog their skeletons are visible underneath their skin. One of the cats looks like Edvard Munch's The Scream.

There are also a glossary and a menu of Spanish terms. Anyone who frequents Mexican restaurants would be familiar with most of the menu terms.

I believe this book would be a favorite choice for read-aloud because there is a good deal of silly action you could act out.

A remarkably original book. The illustrations are well wrought, and the story contains some of the most evocative I've heard in a picture book. Describing Novio Boy's collar, the book says it was, "a leather one with real gems that sparkled at night when cars passed in the street". The cats themselves are a twinge odd. Drawn with cat bodies but human eyes, teeth, and moustaches, they are just disturbing enough to keep the pictures interesting. It's a colorful book as well, full of beautiful swirling scenes and bold shapes. The use of Spanish throughout the text is seamless as well, never striking the reader as out of place or jarring. This book would read well with other stories that incorporate more than one language in their text. Or, kids could read it with other picture books that take place in Hispanic communities. Or, it could be paired with other stories where hungry preying animals fail to get a meal. A beautiful book to read aloud to groups.

Any controversy surrounding this book is misplaced. It is a well-written story that entices children to want to to read it and other books. Rarely is there such a fine blending between the words of the author and the pictures of the illustrator. My students love this book and read it again and again.

The book put me in a good mood. It is in English, but there are some Spanish words that are hard to read sometimes. I really liked the part when the cat was sneaking up behind the bird. The cat then heard the five mice walking, and he started swinging his tail to the rhythm of their walking. The cat goes up to the gate and ends up scaring the mice. That was only one of the funny scenes. The book has one more funny part at the end that I don't want to give away. Anybody who reads this book will love it!

Gary Soto, author of Accidental Love, offers another helpful work of fiction to teenagers stuck in the dramas of puberty, young love, and physical education classes. Mercy on These Teenage Chimps is an account of Ronnie and Joey, who both wake up on their thirteenth birthdays and discover that they have become chimpanzees overnight.

Ronnie and Joey are not literally chimpanzees, though one would be hard pressed to convince them of that in the midst of all the monkey-related humor in this novel. They are young men transitioning from childhood to adulthood by way of facial hair, body odor, and an attraction to a young lady at their school. It is in front if this young lady that the P.E. coach humiliates Joey, who then promptly decides to perch himself in a tree and not come down.

Ronnie, a loyal friend, attempts to rectify the offense, and to convince the cute girl to give Joey a chance. And if these two feats were not enough for a plot line, Ronnie also must confront bullies, his P.E. coach's estranged marriage, and his own struggles to accept himself. Despite his preoccupation with his similarities to monkeys, Ronnie manages to overcome, bringing this charming novel to a close with a flurry of awkward heroism.

Young readers will easily identify with the likable Ronnie and Joey. This amusing story of friendship and self-acceptance is sure to be a hit with adolescent males.

Note: This reviewer recommends this book to teenage boys who come into a major metropolitan library where she coordinates youth services.

Armchair Interviews says: Good to see a book for teen, especially boys.

Biology is a tricky thing, especially at 13. Just as we get to that age where we're figuring ourselves out and we exhibit some control over who we are, we go through a volcanic eruption and all the rules change. Our bodies rebel, our brainwaves scatter...and it's hard not to feel like someone --- or something --- else.

Ronnie Gonzalez and his best friend, Joey Rios, have just turned 13. As if their lives weren't already fraught with hardship, this magical new age brings with it a curious side effect: they have become chimps. At least that is how they perceive themselves (and how they believe they are perceived by others). Strange hair forms on their bodies, their eating habits go ape (pun intended) and their wild behavior begins to attract more attention than usual, often leading to the simian comparison.

It is a burst of this feral energy --- Joey scales walls and rafters at school to retrieve a balloon for a girl he likes --- that causes the boys' coach to chew out Joey and send the young man into a depression. Joey climbs up into a tree at home and resolves never to come down. Ronnie, who understands the value of friendship and asserts that he owes it to his brother-in-chimpdom, goes on a journey to find the girl Joey likes, believing that she alone can coax Joey out of the tree.

Like any good quest, Ronnie meets an assortment of quirky characters, some who help him along the path, others who offer obstacles to his goal. It is here where Gary Soto shines, crafting the heart and soul of the book through Ronnie's interaction with these people. While each flirts with being a caricature, Soto masterfully lends each a twist that prevents them from becoming so familiar as to be cardboard cutouts.

MERCY ON THESE TEENAGE CHIMPS is a fun, fast read that offers an amusing glimpse at that awkward age when the body and mind rebel and no one quite feels like themselves anymore. The good news Soto imparts: you adapt to the new body, you make peace with the new brainwaves, and you move on. And everything turns out fine.

--- Reviewed by Brian Farrey ([...]).

How many books capture the angst of the teenage girl--her changing body, her constant mood swings, her unpredictable complexion and her yearning for attention from the boy of her dreams? Hundreds? Thousands?

Now, how many books take the opposite point of view--how many books go into the mind of the teenage boy and capture his frustration with his seemingly disproportionate body? His struggles to understand the "crooked road" that is life (p. 123)? And, of course, the blush of first love--unrequited, but first, nevertheless. As any reader of young adult fiction knows, books unabashedly delving into the struggles of life as a teenage boy don't come along often.

Author Gary Soto examines the everyday life of the adolescent male in MERCY ON THESE TEENAGE CHIMPS. According to newly-teenaged Ronnie, the transformation from boy to chimp begins on one's thirteenth birthday: "I examined my reflection in the bathroom mirror. What was this? The peachy fuzz on my chin? The splayed ears? The wide grin that revealed huge teeth? ... I wiggled my ears. My nose appeared flatter than ever" (p. 1). And, so begins this inevitable leg of the transformation from boy to man.

The most intriguing aspect of this story is the sensitivity Soto explores in the characters of Ronnie and his best friend, Joey. Too often in our society, boys are taught that they are required to lose--or, at minimum, hide--their sensitivity, lest they be considered less of a man as they mature. Throughout the story, the reader is privy to Ronnie's innermost thoughts and fears, some of which he shares with Joey: "Do you think any girls will like us?" (p. 4) is one question met with silence from his best friend--well, silence and Joey's attempt to spit on his cat. Still, such raw honesty between males is eye-opening, refreshing, and too rarely conveyed in young adult literature.

At times, the constant stream of chimpanzee references become a bit grating, but the honesty of the characters trumps this particular negative. Soto's MERCY ON THESE TEENAGE CHIMPS works, for male and female readers alike, comforting adolescent males and assuring females that, yes, the boys have the same awkward, frightening fears as the girls, whether they are open about their feelings or not.

Have mercy!

Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard