At the age of ten, Billy was kidnapped by his natural father from the adoptive family he had grown up in. Six years later, after being arrested in a minor bar brawl, Billy is returned to his adoptive family. Torn once again from the world he has come to know, Billy is forced to confront the painful memories of his ordeal. Why are they doing this? How can they just interrupt his whole life - again? They never really wanted him - they hadn't even tried to find him, had they?
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
When Will Campbell is kidnapped by his natural father, a rodeo rider, all the 10-year-old can think about is returning to his adoptive home in Iowa. But five rugged years with "Dad," Guillermo Santiago Melendez, in rural New Mexico have given the boy a solid sense of himself as Billy Melendez. He is anguished when, his true identity discovered, he is sent back to the family who "didn't care enough to come find him." Relearning the rules of his inflexible legal father, Dave Campbell, causes more than a few problems for the self-sufficient teen. Meanwhile, his cowboy garb is ridiculed at school and his new-found Hispanic friends don't meet the Campbells' approval. Cow-punchers and urbanites alike will sympathize with Billy's struggle to adjust, his loneliness and his frustration at being misunderstood. His muddled emotions are convincingly conveyed, as is his gradual acceptance of the jarring changes in his life. Like Caroline Cooney's Whatever Happened to Janie? , this eye-opening and atmospheric story shows the vacillating loyalties and deep-rooted anger of a child caught between families. First-novelist Roybal's smooth narrative and captivating characters will keep readers turning the pages. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-Roybal's novel relates with wrenching clarity the pain and confusion that adults sometimes inflict on their children. William Campbell was raised by his mother's sister and her husband. The Campbells provided the only family he had ever known, until his father, a rodeo cowboy, kidnapped him. The novel opens six years after the kidnapping, with Billy, now 16, living with his father in a predominantly Hispanic community in rural New Mexico. He has adjusted to his new life-he hunts and ropes calves and has friends. He loves his father, and understands the man's gruff, no-nonsense personality. But when Billy is picked up by the police after a fight and his fingerprints match those of a boy who has been missing for six years, his uncle drives down from Iowa to take him back to a life now completely alien to him; a life where he is William Campbell, not Billy Melendez. Spanish phrases and slang lend authenticity to the text and serve to contrast the New Mexico setting with that of suburban Iowa. Readers can sense the angst and terror of a child torn between adults in this complex tale of conflict, set against the battling emotions of the main character and those who love him.
Julie Halverstadt, Douglas Public Library District, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Julie Halverstadt, Douglas Public Library District, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Kidnapped,
This review is from: Billy (Hardcover)
I don't know WHAT book the others read but this is a fantastic story of growing up. A great teen novel. Especially reccomend to anyone who grew up in a rural setting. She is as good as S.E. Hinton
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