He forgot to say good-bye /

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove live very different lives but have much in common. Wealthy, white Jake lives on the "Oh-Wow West Side" of El Paso, and Mexican American Ram lives in the poor neighborhood, "Dizzy Land." Both boys wonder how different their lives might be if their dads had stuck around. Told from multiple perspectives and starting with a leisurely introspective pace, the story picks up after Ram's younger brother lands on life support after a drug-overdose-induced coma. As Ram sits with his brother, he decides that "sometimes hope made you keep holding on to something that you should let go of." Ram's mother calls Ram her angel, and their relationship is beautifully developed. The friendship between the boys evolves naturally and widens to include shoot-from-the-hip sidekick Alejandra. Both boys' journey to acceptance will be meaningful for teens, who often wish for different parents. S. E. Hinton's Outsider fans will enjoy this alternate look at social class, loyalty, family unity, and the importance of belonging, from the author of Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood (2004). Dobrez, Cindy.

Starred Review. Setting this wise and trenchant coming-of-age story in El Paso, Tex., Sáenz (Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood) alternates between two teenage narrators from very different backgrounds who nonetheless share the same disfiguring pain--their fathers walked out on them years ago. Soft-spoken Ramiro Lopez is the responsible son of a hardworking single mother, a role that intensifies when his bitter younger brother overdoses on heroin; Ram's high school is next door to that of combative Jake Upthegrove, who's disgusted with his mother and stepfather's shallow, materialistic values. As the characters endure traumatic events (Jake catches his stepfather in an affair; the overdose leaves Ram's brother brain-dead), the author shows them developing redemptive friendships--all the while preserving their highly individuated voices. The protagonists and their friends seem so real and earn the audience's loyalty so legitimately that it will be hard for readers to part from them. Ages 12-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

Gr 9 Up-In dual narratives, Jake Upthegrove and Ramiro Lopez share their thoughts and the events of a few days in their hometown, gradually discovering that they share an immense hole in their lives from absent fathers. Jake is from the wealthy part of El Paso, and Ram is less privileged. Both have distinctive relationships with their mothers; Jake's cold and unloving, Ram's warm and supportive. Seniors in high school, they have an interest in their futures, girls, and the world around them. Jake is cynical and angry, while Ram is more content with his life until his brother's heroin abuse catapults him into a re-examination of his relationships and friendships. Jake's attempt to make peace with his mom by agreeing to an 18th birthday party does the same. The worlds of each narrator seem unlikely to intersect, but as the teens gain basic respect for one another and develop a friendship, these differences are revealed as insignificant. Thought-provoking, this novel is accessible without being simple, and readers are sure to admire these boys' attempts to come to terms with their lives. Self-absorbed but not annoyingly so, with raw language perfectly in tune with the characters as developed, the dueling voices reveal an essential humanity and goodness that transcend the details of socioeconomic class.-Carol Edwards, Denver Public Library, Denver, CO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(High School) Working-class Ramiro Lopez gets along with his mother, worries about his increasingly troubled kid brother, and goes to an all-Hispanic public school where the teachers don't expect much from their students. Jake Upthegrove is a wealthy WASP with anger-management issues who attends the demanding magnet school next door. Although these two high school seniors -- one earnest and reliable, the other sarcastic and mercurial -- would seem to have little in common, both struggle with feelings of loss and abandonment because they grew up with absent fathers. The boys relate their separate stories in parallel first-person narratives that, despite dealing with some tough subjects (Ram's brother overdoses on heroin; Jake discovers his stepfather is having an affair), are so querulous that readers may lose patience with their long-winded moan-ologues. Though intriguing supporting characters and a vivid El Paso setting help sustain interest, the narrative picks up steam only in the final third of the novel when the two teens, who have just been nodding acquaintances for much of the story, finally begin to interact and become friends. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove, teenage residents of El Paso, Texas, voice their anguish at growing up without their biological fathers. By default, Ramiro assumes the head-of-the-house role while mentoring his drug-addicted younger brother. Jake erupts with sarcasm and anger due to the tension and frustration of being without adult male guidance, placing him in constant conflict with his needy mother. Contrasting the two lives--Ramiro's in the barrio and Jake's among the upper-middle-class--the narrative reveals the challenges both boys face while growing into manhood. Their first-person accounts alternate, a style that makes the prose read like an oral testimony or a confession. There are poignant moments throughout the story, but dated slang will alienate teen readers: Jake repeatedly says, "Can you dig it," and "It destroyed me." Many conflicts and plot tangents clutter the boys' narratives, causing the work to ramble on far too long to maintain teen interest. Still, this is one of the few young-adult novels offering a realistic portrayal of life along the southern border. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.