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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Saint Death shows a mostly unheard of side of Mexico, on the border where gangs rule. When Arturo's friend steals some money he shouldn't have, can he cheat death herself? Or will she take them both?
Saint Death is interesting however quite boring, and the climax is quite frustrating because Arturo is just doing really dumb stuff. From there, the ending is pretty clear, so there isn't much tension. Personally, I also didn't really feel for the characters, I wasn't really rooting for them to survive etc.
Saint Death is interesting however quite boring, and the climax is quite frustrating because Arturo is just doing really dumb stuff. From there, the ending is pretty clear, so there isn't much tension. Personally, I also didn't really feel for the characters, I wasn't really rooting for them to survive etc.
"Each of us dies the death he is looking for."
--
"Don't worry where you're going, you'll die where you have to."
Arturo is scraping by living in Anapra on the outskirts of Juarez, Mexico. He can see El Norte from his small shack but America feels distant compared to his reality spent hauling things at the auto shop and trying to avoid the notice of gang members and the cartel who have carved Juarez into their own sections of territory.
Arturo's childhood friend Faustino reenters his life preparing to use stolen money to send his girlfriend and their son illegally across the border. With his gang boss on the verge of discovering the theft, Faustino is desperate for help to replace the thousand dollars he has taken. Arturo reluctantly agrees to try to win the money playing Calavera but as with most card games, things don't go according to plan.
Looming over Arturo's story, and Juarez itself, is Santa Muerte--Saint Death. The folk saint watches impassively as people in the border town struggle in the face of a vicious drug trade, dangerous trafficking, corruption, and income inequality. It's possible that Santa Muerte might help Arturo if he prays hard enough and proves himself. But it's also possible she'll watch as Arturo heads toward his tragic ending. The outcome doesn't really matter, everyone comes to her in the end in Saint Death (2017) by Marcus Sedgwick.
To call Saint Death ambitious would be a gross understatement. This slim novel complicates a deceptively simple story about one young man and uses it as a lens to examine the world on a much larger scale.
Arturo's story, as related by an omniscient third person narrator, alternates with commentary from nameless third parties on conditions affecting Mexico and Juarez specifically including The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), climate change, the city's founding, and even the worship of Saint Death herself.
The formatting and language Saint Death underscore that this is a book about Mexican characters who live their lives in Spanish. There are no italics for Spanish words and dialogue is formatted according to Spanish language conventions with double punctuation for question marks and exclamation points (one at either end of the sentence) and no quotation marks for dialogue which is instead indicated with dashes.
Saint Death is simultaneously an absorbing, heart-wrenching read and a scathing indictment of the conditions that have allowed the drug trade and human trafficking to flourish in Mexico. Eerily timely and prescient this ambitious story is both a masterful piece of literature and a cautionary tale. Add this to your must-read list now. Highly recommended.
If you want to know more about some of what's mentioned in the book and a bit about Sedgwick's writing process, be sure to check out his blog posts about the book as well.
Possible Pairings: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough,The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle,The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, American Street by Ibi Zoboi, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in the March 2017 issue of School Library Journal as a starred review*
--
"Don't worry where you're going, you'll die where you have to."
Arturo is scraping by living in Anapra on the outskirts of Juarez, Mexico. He can see El Norte from his small shack but America feels distant compared to his reality spent hauling things at the auto shop and trying to avoid the notice of gang members and the cartel who have carved Juarez into their own sections of territory.
Arturo's childhood friend Faustino reenters his life preparing to use stolen money to send his girlfriend and their son illegally across the border. With his gang boss on the verge of discovering the theft, Faustino is desperate for help to replace the thousand dollars he has taken. Arturo reluctantly agrees to try to win the money playing Calavera but as with most card games, things don't go according to plan.
Looming over Arturo's story, and Juarez itself, is Santa Muerte--Saint Death. The folk saint watches impassively as people in the border town struggle in the face of a vicious drug trade, dangerous trafficking, corruption, and income inequality. It's possible that Santa Muerte might help Arturo if he prays hard enough and proves himself. But it's also possible she'll watch as Arturo heads toward his tragic ending. The outcome doesn't really matter, everyone comes to her in the end in Saint Death (2017) by Marcus Sedgwick.
To call Saint Death ambitious would be a gross understatement. This slim novel complicates a deceptively simple story about one young man and uses it as a lens to examine the world on a much larger scale.
Arturo's story, as related by an omniscient third person narrator, alternates with commentary from nameless third parties on conditions affecting Mexico and Juarez specifically including The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), climate change, the city's founding, and even the worship of Saint Death herself.
The formatting and language Saint Death underscore that this is a book about Mexican characters who live their lives in Spanish. There are no italics for Spanish words and dialogue is formatted according to Spanish language conventions with double punctuation for question marks and exclamation points (one at either end of the sentence) and no quotation marks for dialogue which is instead indicated with dashes.
Saint Death is simultaneously an absorbing, heart-wrenching read and a scathing indictment of the conditions that have allowed the drug trade and human trafficking to flourish in Mexico. Eerily timely and prescient this ambitious story is both a masterful piece of literature and a cautionary tale. Add this to your must-read list now. Highly recommended.
If you want to know more about some of what's mentioned in the book and a bit about Sedgwick's writing process, be sure to check out his blog posts about the book as well.
Possible Pairings: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough,The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle,The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, American Street by Ibi Zoboi, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in the March 2017 issue of School Library Journal as a starred review*
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh. Okay then. #crying
Loved this book so much, restored my faith in Sedgwick's writing.
Review to come?
Loved this book so much, restored my faith in Sedgwick's writing.
Review to come?
A difficult read. The danger that Arturo faces in his daily life, the world of Mexican narco-trafficking and gangs is perhaps a little sensationalized but it feels real. There are moments when readers will wonder how he will survive, and perhaps those moments are a little too difficult for younger teen readers to read just yet.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
Punched me in the gut and left me in tears. One of the most impactful books I’ve ever read
The Good: The cover is beautiful! Whoever designed it should get a raise.
Even though this book was published in 2016, it’s still extremely current. It doesn’t seem like the problems along the US/Mexico border have changed much in two years. The story addresses drug wars and gang violence, extreme poverty, racism, police corruption, maquiladoras, and immigration. In addition to tackling the tough issues, the story immerses the reader in Mexican culture.
Marcus Sedgwick is a brilliant writer. His writing style is sparse but powerful. He can say a lot with very few words. The ending of this book will stay with me for a long time.
The Bad: If this book was written by anybody other than Marcus Sedgwick, I wouldn’t have read it. I don’t like reading about drugs, and card games are on my list of things I profoundly don’t care about. The main character really likes playing cards. Since I’m not interested in the subjects of the story, the book had a hard time holding my attention.
I wasn’t hooked by the omniscient point-of-view. Like all of Sedgwick’s books, this one is a bit odd. Saint Death is part thriller and part meditation on how the US is constantly screwing over Mexico. Between the chapters, there are facts about NAFTA, philosophical musings on immigration, and other things like that. It’s accurate and important information, but it pulled me out of the story because it got too heavy-handed at times. The characters are used by the author to prove his arguments. That annoyed me. It also made it very hard to connect with the characters. I’m not happy when the themes become the main focus of a book. I want to read a story, not an essay.
The Bottom Line: Not my favorite Sedgwick book, but it’s probably worth reading if you’re interested in the problems along the border.
I have a blog! Check out more of my reviews.
Even though this book was published in 2016, it’s still extremely current. It doesn’t seem like the problems along the US/Mexico border have changed much in two years. The story addresses drug wars and gang violence, extreme poverty, racism, police corruption, maquiladoras, and immigration. In addition to tackling the tough issues, the story immerses the reader in Mexican culture.
Marcus Sedgwick is a brilliant writer. His writing style is sparse but powerful. He can say a lot with very few words. The ending of this book will stay with me for a long time.
The Bad: If this book was written by anybody other than Marcus Sedgwick, I wouldn’t have read it. I don’t like reading about drugs, and card games are on my list of things I profoundly don’t care about. The main character really likes playing cards. Since I’m not interested in the subjects of the story, the book had a hard time holding my attention.
I wasn’t hooked by the omniscient point-of-view. Like all of Sedgwick’s books, this one is a bit odd. Saint Death is part thriller and part meditation on how the US is constantly screwing over Mexico. Between the chapters, there are facts about NAFTA, philosophical musings on immigration, and other things like that. It’s accurate and important information, but it pulled me out of the story because it got too heavy-handed at times. The characters are used by the author to prove his arguments. That annoyed me. It also made it very hard to connect with the characters. I’m not happy when the themes become the main focus of a book. I want to read a story, not an essay.
The Bottom Line: Not my favorite Sedgwick book, but it’s probably worth reading if you’re interested in the problems along the border.
I have a blog! Check out more of my reviews.
So much can happen in a day. Girls can disappear, lies can be exposed and gambles can go terribly wrong. Friends can be reunited. Lost fathers can be found, for better or worse. Death waits every heartbeart.
In the end, is it all for nothing? Does anything we do truly matter?
I don't know if I've ever felt more torn between hope and despair than when walking through this day with Arturo.
In the end, is it all for nothing? Does anything we do truly matter?
I don't know if I've ever felt more torn between hope and despair than when walking through this day with Arturo.