Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Recently suspended twice for school fights, 17-year-old Abraham grapples with a propensity for violence.The Latino teen's grandmother can't seem to bear his fighting anymore and decides that "Abram needs to learn how to be a man." She enlists the help of Claudio, Abraham's boorish, hostile uncle. With Uncle Claudio's impending return, Abram fears the worst. Although his mother's absence and his father's death—a topic not broached in his family—also gnaw at him, he finds solace in his relationship with almost-girlfriend Ophelia, who urges him to root out the source of his aggression. "If you keep fighting….Nothing good can come from this, Abraham." In his debut for teens, Jiménez (The Possibilities of Mud, 2014) explores shades of manhood and all it entails with a deft, poetic hand. Utilizing a second-person narration, the author revels in offering intense sensory details, portraying a firm sense of Abram's inner turmoil. Uncle Claudio's arrival marks the beginning of an ill-fated path for his nephew. After taking him to the gym to hone his strength, Uncle Claudio wants to prepare Abram for a career in boxing. Falling deeper for Ophelia, Abram considers his uncle's offer as he muses on the "prospect of bills and a job and a family to lead." When Uncle Claudio signs him up for dubious fighting matches, it all comes crashing down on Abram. Revelations come in disorienting wallops.A moving, almost-suffocating, haunting exploration of what defines manhood. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Recently suspended twice for school fights, 17-year-old Abraham grapples with a propensity for violence.The Latino teen's grandmother can't seem to bear his fighting anymore and decides that "Abram needs to learn how to be a man." She enlists the help of Claudio, Abraham's boorish, hostile uncle. With Uncle Claudio's impending return, Abram fears the worst. Although his mother's absence and his father's death—a topic not broached in his family—also gnaw at him, he finds solace in his relationship with almost-girlfriend Ophelia, who urges him to root out the source of his aggression. "If you keep fighting….Nothing good can come from this, Abraham." In his debut for teens, Jiménez (The Possibilities of Mud, 2014) explores shades of manhood and all it entails with a deft, poetic hand. Utilizing a second-person narration, the author revels in offering intense sensory details, portraying a firm sense of Abram's inner turmoil. Uncle Claudio's arrival marks the beginning of an ill-fated path for his nephew. After taking him to the gym to hone his strength, Uncle Claudio wants to prepare Abram for a career in boxing. Falling deeper for Ophelia, Abram considers his uncle's offer as he muses on the "prospect of bills and a job and a family to lead." When Uncle Claudio signs him up for dubious fighting matches, it all comes crashing down on Abram. Revelations come in disorienting wallops.A moving, almost-suffocating, haunting exploration of what defines manhood. (Fiction. 14 & up)

School Library Journal (Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Abraham is having a hard time. He's been in three fights and has been suspended from school twice, all before Thanksgiving. His grandmother has decided that she cannot raise him without the help of a male influence to help shape him into a man. Against the advice of her girlfriend, Abraham's grandmother calls her troubled son Claudio home to help with the teenager. Claudio sees that his nephew has potential as a boxer and starts taking him to gyms to work out. He bribes Abraham with a puppy and makes him promise to fight. When the time comes, the teen tells no one of his match, especially not his friend Ophelia, who has told him fighting will end badly for him. This is a short novel filled with an abundance of metaphors, which often weigh down the progression of the story. It's a slow and unnecessary burn to get to the heart of the story. A majority of the work is told in a second-person narrative before switching to first person at the shocking climax. While there is resolution, the startling and quick conclusion will most likely leave readers angry and upset. VERDICT Possibly for large library systems looking to diversify collections. Faythe Arredondo, Tulare County Library, CA