"Por nuestra cultura hablarán nuestros libros. Our books shall speak for our culture."
Bobby and Miguel. By Victor McGlone. ISBN:13: 978-109532850-7 $16.95.
Bobby and Miguel is about a twelve-year-old boy, Bobby, growing up in the Midwest. His neighborhood is quite homogeneous. Everyone who attends his school comes from a very similar background. The main character, Bobby, is a happy boy with few worries in life. One summer, between sixth and seventh grades, Bobby gets a new next-door-neighbor. His new neighbor was born in the USA, but his parents are from Merida, Mexico. During the summer before seventh grade, the two boys, Bobby and Miguel, develop a friendship. Although they each have new things to learn about each other, Bobby, in particular, has much to learn about Miguel and the Latino culture he comes from.
This story is about growing up, but more pointedly it is a story about barriers and lines we all must eventually tackle. It explores lines between cultures, the metaphorical lines between sleeping and waking, the real barriers between childhood and adulthood and grapples with the moral line between doing what is right or doing nothing. Terri Pasqualin, Humanities Teacher
Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Mexican American literature, Juvenile literature multi-racial friendship, Chicano literature multicultural friendship Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Mexican American literature, Latin American literature, Chicano literature, Latino fiction, Latina literature, Mexican American fiction, Latin American fiction, Chicano fiction, Middle school life in literature Latino barrio in fiction, Chicanos social life and customs Fiction, Mexican Americans social life and customs Fiction, Latinos social life and customs Fiction
