ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

With all of his biological family members out of the picture, R. D. lives with his grandmother's former boyfriend, Earl. It's not much, but it's par for the course in a life filled with the threats of Latino gang violence and failing eighth grade (again). Then Earl dies. R. D. does the right thing calls 911 and they come to take his body t slowly R. D. realizes that as long as no one else finds out, they can't send him to a group home. So he begins to teach himself everything he's always avoided: how to shop, how to cook, how to work, how to pay bills. This blundering into adulthood is alternately funny and sad, particularly as R. D. tries to navigate Earl's funeral arrangements. Lynch deftly walks a tightrope: despite R. D.'s increasingly disturbing predicaments, his good heart is never in doubt, and his motivations feel genuine. Lynch has a solid command of a young adult's view on adult life, and this gripping tale is a great fit for those with a taste for gritty realism.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Hispanic teen hoodlum R.D.'s unofficial guardian--his grandmother's ex-boyfriend--dies. Desperate to avoid foster care, R.D. attempts to succeed in school, cook a decent meal, pay the household bills, and disguise the fact that he's living alone. Lynch's occasionally over-idealistic portrait of a teenage boy, both hapless and clear-eyed, invokes humor, pathos, and hope.

Kirkus Reviews

R.D.'s life is messed up. He's repeating eighth grade, his mother's in prison for dealing crack and his father is a Mexican citizen, location unknown. R.D. was being raised by his grandparents in a neighborhood gone to hell, but his grandmother has run off with a trucker named Harry and his grandfather Earl has died, so R.D. is left to fend for himself. Lynch's first-person narration is lively and immediate, sensitively delineating character and setting and expertly tracing the transformation of a young man readers will care about. After much floundering, R.D. cleans house, learns to cook, does laundry and even starts doing his school work. It turns out that underneath R.D.'s cynical and disaffected facade resides the intelligent and brave Richard Diaz, learning to do the right things in life. As his teacher, Miz Trueblood, says, "You're going to get along in this world just fine, R.D." A memorable story of grit and survival, and helping hands along the way. (Fiction. 12 & up)

School Library Journal (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 6-9 Fifteen-year-old R.D., part Mexican, part Cheyenne, lives in the San Joaquin Valley with his grandmother and her long-term boyfriend, Earl, until she splits town with a new man. Meanwhile, R.D. gets suspended his first day repeating eighth grade when he stops a fight between two "brown girls" wearing rival gang colors and doesn't correct the assistant principal when he assumes otherwise. Then Earl suddenly dies. The teen's mom is in prison, and his migrant, Mexican father is MIA, so, in order to avoid a group home, he decides to cover up the fact that he is now living on his own. On the surface, Lynch paints a story that could appeal to reluctant readers. However, R.D. has none of the discernable life skills a boy in his situation might pick up, such as doing laundry, and this unrealistic portrayal could be a plot killer for many readers. Also, his bad decisionslike forging the signature on and depositing Earl's Social Security and pension checksare brushed aside, and things are neatly resolved when the executor of Earl's will helps R.D. avoid criminal consequences and secure his independence. Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ

Voice of Youth Advocates

Fifteen-year-old R.D's life is pretty messed upùhe lives with his grandmother and her boyfriend Earl because his mother is in jail, and he is repeating eighth grade. Things get worse when grandma leaves R. D. with Earl to run off with someone new, but Earl dies. Although R. D. tries to do the right thing, he does not want to go to a group home. He decides to not tell the school, his friends, and family, or Earl's car repair clients that Earl is dead. As the days pass, R. D. must navigate increasingly confusing and difficult adult responsibilitiesùpaying bills, buying food, cooking, researching car repairs to take over the business, and dealing with the bank. At the same time, he is trying to stay out of trouble at a gang-filled school so that no one will notice he is living alone. Eventually it all falls apart but some unexpectedly kind strangers help R. D. manage to continue on his own. R. D.Æs slang-filled, first-person narrative stays clear and sounds believably mixed with hope, pessimism, sarcasm, resignation, and determination to find a better life. He is a likeable youth going through a difficult situation with good motives but also with typical teen carelessness. Although most of the story stays plausible, the resolution happens very quickly, with a fairy-tale ending of all wishes granted. Still the enjoyable narration of one messed-up life mostly makes up for the end.ùTeresa Copeland.