Horn Book

Looking back at his teenage years in a New Mexican barrio called Hollywood, Sammy recalls his ill-fated romance with the tragic Juliana, the death of a friend in Vietnam, and the impact of social changes on his school life and friendships during the late 1960s. Written in a poetic first-person voice that incorporates some Spanish into the narrative, Sammy's story of love, loss, and strong family ties is hard to forget.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Sammy Santos-responsible, bright, and self-contained-grows up in the Hollywood barrio of Las Cruces, NM, during the last half of the 1960s. S enz provides the Mexican-American teen with a voice that is genuine and compelling, realistic in its limitations and nuances as he comes to grips with the death of Juliana, his first love, and the increasingly complex demands and needs of his remaining friends, as well as of his family and neighbors. Subplots involve the role of the Church in the barrio, the movement from authoritarian school administrations to the loosening of rules during the Vietnam War period, the realistic portrayal of what happened to too many gay teens during this period (and continues to happen today), the effects of the draft on poor young men of color, the roles adopted by individual teens as they mature within a community's social order, and family ties that require people to choose sometimes for themselves and sometimes for others in the family. S enz works through all this material neatly and so effectively that Sammy deserves to become a character of lasting interest to both casual readers and literature classes. Expletives appear throughout as do large helpings of Spanish, without italics and not always with English echoed afterward, in perfect keeping both with Sammy's world and his self-perception. His hopes and plans for a better life, beyond the hold of Hollywood are poignant and palpable. This is a powerful and authentic look at a community's aspirations and the tragic losses that result from shattered dreams.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review This story of growing up in a poor New Mexico barrio (ironically called Hollywood) offers up late-1960s angst as experienced by a smart teen named Sammy Santos. Nicknamed the Librarian by his Mexican American peers, with whom he keeps his distance, Sammy's portal into the world of his neighbors is through his girlfriend, Juliana. Her violent murder sets in motion Sammy's senior year of eye-opening growth and anger. Ramirez keeps Sammy's narrative first-person voice almost unaccented. However, when Sammy is engaged in dialogue with family and friends, Ramirez richly peppers the conversations with Mexican American flavor. More importantly, Ramirez gives Sammy a mix of sweetness and vulnerability that edges ever closer to hard bitterness without spilling over, in keeping with his character. His Sammy takes on a hard fate e loss of friends to Vietnam and other circumstances and the loss of his out-of-state-college dream after his father suffers a debilitating accident t he doesn't buckle. Juliana spits spunk, and friend Rene's voice is lean and tough, while Sammy's dad sounds gently weary, voiced slowly and softly. The dialogue is shot through with Spanish phrases, but the meanings are always made clear because of context and subtext. There's bilingual swearing, but it's natural to the time and place, never gratuitous. Sammy's saga, set in an era of upheaval, is well worth a listen.