School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-This novel paints an emotional portrait of the highs and lows on the journey to young adulthood. The plot focuses on high school junior Teodoro and the Avila family as they enter a period of crisis and struggle to maintain a cohesive unit. Teens will encounter relatable issues of economic hardship, wavering academic self-confidence, feuding parents, and a sense of growing despair as family members continue to grow farther apart. Teodoro's sudden romantic interest in a childhood friend becomes a catalyst for taking charge of his future and improving his grades. Shortly after, his older brother, Manny, returns from several military tours with a difficult case of PTSD and depression. As the Avila family is pushed to the brink, Teodoro's older sister takes the reins and plans a road trip that may just save everyone. Flores-Scott sheds light on important issues of mental health and attempted suicide while exploring the emotions of first love. He also adeptly provides a window and a mirror of Latinx culture and reimagines the American road trip as an individual journey, one deeply anchored in sacrifice for those we love. While some aspects of the trip are predictable, this narrative offers a fast-paced plot, high readability, and guaranteed tears of joy and sadness. VERDICT A must-purchase for fans of realistic fiction.-Monica Cabarcas, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, VA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The past few years have brought many hardships to Teodoro Avila, known as T, and his family. But during his junior year, T develops high hopes for the future. He is enjoying a budding romance, his grades are improving, and his brother, Manny, is finally coming home from deployment in Iraq. But when Manny returns suffering from PTSD, his violent outbursts and bouts of depression are messing up T's plans to get himself and his family back on the right track. As tensions mount and the school year draws to a close, T's older sister, Xochitl, decides it's time for her and her brothers to hit the road. Unbeknownst to T and Manny, she has a plan-but if it doesn't work, there could be devastating consequences. In a story about mending broken ties, making sacrifices, and visiting landscapes and loved ones from the past, Flores-Scott (Jumped In) invites readers to follow T on a road trip that brings to life the Avilas' Latino heritage and Manny's disorder. In addition to the book's serious subject matter, it celebrates many things: family love, realized dreams, and the taste of a green chile cheeseburger. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
