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readwithpassion's review against another edition
4.0
I have been waiting to read this book for a while. It was recommended to me by several people. This book is very real and very scary. I kept putting it down and telling the people around me, "The characters in my book are not making good choices." As a high school teacher, I found it to be very frustrating and extremely sad, but I liked how Griffin wrote the truth with no apologies.
snarkywench's review against another edition
3.0
This novel is a brand new voice on the YA scene with a story that I haven't even remotely comes across in my reading. Ray and Jose are the result of the foster system and have long ago deserted it. Since then they have been living in their shambolic digs, enjoying some creature comforts but doing without many basic needs.
The dialogue is authentic, the boys riffing off each other in a way that is very specific to guys. They love one another as brothers but many homophobic jokes make it clear that they don't love each other in that "other" way (or the opposite could be true, thought I never felt that way). Ray is the lumbering muscle of the team, armed with a fierce intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. Jose has an impressive six pack, a big mouth and is beyond impulsive. I wondered, frequently, why Ray could be bothered with this other kid? But despite their differences these two are amazingly supportive of one another in many situations - love, danger and idiotic decision making.
I grew increasingly frustrated as this narrative floated along, sometimes feeling like there was no real plan. Any attempt that Ray made towards a more stable existence was thrown away in actions motivated by his loyalty to Jose. While these situations are undeniably realistic, I was annoyed by the cyclic nature of their situations.
That being said, Griffin's dialogue is fantastic, rich and full of character. His words enabled me to truly know each of the boys with their street vocab and frequent mispronunciations (if I see opposed instead of supposed ever again I will probably scream) that are probably common for those who don't attend school. It's a well constructed novel and there is a wealth of lovely characters but I didn't completely gel with the story.
The dialogue is authentic, the boys riffing off each other in a way that is very specific to guys. They love one another as brothers but many homophobic jokes make it clear that they don't love each other in that "other" way (or the opposite could be true, thought I never felt that way). Ray is the lumbering muscle of the team, armed with a fierce intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. Jose has an impressive six pack, a big mouth and is beyond impulsive. I wondered, frequently, why Ray could be bothered with this other kid? But despite their differences these two are amazingly supportive of one another in many situations - love, danger and idiotic decision making.
I grew increasingly frustrated as this narrative floated along, sometimes feeling like there was no real plan. Any attempt that Ray made towards a more stable existence was thrown away in actions motivated by his loyalty to Jose. While these situations are undeniably realistic, I was annoyed by the cyclic nature of their situations.
That being said, Griffin's dialogue is fantastic, rich and full of character. His words enabled me to truly know each of the boys with their street vocab and frequent mispronunciations (if I see opposed instead of supposed ever again I will probably scream) that are probably common for those who don't attend school. It's a well constructed novel and there is a wealth of lovely characters but I didn't completely gel with the story.
carstensena's review against another edition
5.0
Gritty urban YA. An excellent first novel. I cared so much for Ray by the end; I need a sequel!!
snarkywench's review against another edition
3.0
This novel is a brand new voice on the YA scene with a story that I haven't even remotely comes across in my reading. Ray and Jose are the result of the foster system and have long ago deserted it. Since then they have been living in their shambolic digs, enjoying some creature comforts but doing without many basic needs.
The dialogue is authentic, the boys riffing off each other in a way that is very specific to guys. They love one another as brothers but many homophobic jokes make it clear that they don't love each other in that "other" way (or the opposite could be true, thought I never felt that way). Ray is the lumbering muscle of the team, armed with a fierce intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. Jose has an impressive six pack, a big mouth and is beyond impulsive. I wondered, frequently, why Ray could be bothered with this other kid? But despite their differences these two are amazingly supportive of one another in many situations - love, danger and idiotic decision making.
I grew increasingly frustrated as this narrative floated along, sometimes feeling like there was no real plan. Any attempt that Ray made towards a more stable existence was thrown away in actions motivated by his loyalty to Jose. While these situations are undeniably realistic, I was annoyed by the cyclic nature of their situations.
That being said, Griffin's dialogue is fantastic, rich and full of character. His words enabled me to truly know each of the boys with their street vocab and frequent mispronunciations (if I see opposed instead of supposed ever again I will probably scream) that are probably common for those who don't attend school. It's a well constructed novel and there is a wealth of lovely characters but I didn't completely gel with the story.
The dialogue is authentic, the boys riffing off each other in a way that is very specific to guys. They love one another as brothers but many homophobic jokes make it clear that they don't love each other in that "other" way (or the opposite could be true, thought I never felt that way). Ray is the lumbering muscle of the team, armed with a fierce intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. Jose has an impressive six pack, a big mouth and is beyond impulsive. I wondered, frequently, why Ray could be bothered with this other kid? But despite their differences these two are amazingly supportive of one another in many situations - love, danger and idiotic decision making.
I grew increasingly frustrated as this narrative floated along, sometimes feeling like there was no real plan. Any attempt that Ray made towards a more stable existence was thrown away in actions motivated by his loyalty to Jose. While these situations are undeniably realistic, I was annoyed by the cyclic nature of their situations.
That being said, Griffin's dialogue is fantastic, rich and full of character. His words enabled me to truly know each of the boys with their street vocab and frequent mispronunciations (if I see opposed instead of supposed ever again I will probably scream) that are probably common for those who don't attend school. It's a well constructed novel and there is a wealth of lovely characters but I didn't completely gel with the story.
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