The Confessional [Hardcover]

J.L. Powers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2007

Mexican guy. White guy. Classmates and enemies from across the border and on each other's turf. Big fight. White guy wins. Next day, he's dead. Everyone's a suspect. Everyone's guilty of something.

Does what you look like or where you come from finally determine where your loyalties lie? Who's Us? Who's Them? Which side is your side? Is it Truth?

Contemporary politics, the consequences of guys-being-guys, and questions about faith and personal responsibility pulse throughout the pages of this provocative, eloquent debut.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Power’s first novel powerfully combines timely story lines regarding illegal immigration, school violence, and racial tension.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred


From the Paperback edition.

About the Author

J. L. Powers, an educator and former newspaper writer, lives in San Bruno, California.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375838724
• ISBN-13: 978-0375838729
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,487,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The daughter of a geologist and a journalist, J.L. Powers spent much of her childhood camping and searching for fossils in the American West, and considers herself a true "desert rat." She grew up on the U.S.-Mexico Border and, though she now lives in California, still considers El Paso "home."

She's taught African history and writing at a variety of universities and community colleges in upstate New York, Washington state, New Mexico, Texas, and California. Despite her bad Spanish, Jessica spent several years working as an editor and publicist for Cinco Puntos Press. She is semi-proficient in three languages--Spanish, Portuguese, and Zulu--and now sometimes answers in Zulu when spoken to in Spanish.

Knopf released her young adult novel, The Confessional, in July 2007. A frequent contributor to New Pages, she is currently at work on other projects, including a novel that explores youth homelessness, teen pregnancy, and the outer edge of religious fundamentalism. Partly because of her latest project, Jessica volunteers at Larkin Street Youth Services, a San Francisco organization that serves homeless youth.

In 2008, Powers founded Catalyst Book Press, a small literary press that publishes 2-3 nonfiction books each year. The closest thing she has to a hobby is searching out ghost towns in northern California and attending as many live reggae concerts as is affordable. She travels to as many different parts of the world as she possibly can. She has a husband, Chris, and a weimerener, Jamaica, and can't imagine her life without them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 22, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Confessional (Hardcover)

THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all-male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border.

After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day.

Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the Cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it's all over?

This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It's an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don't worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in its glaring realism. I give it five stars.

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read, no matter your age or beliefs, October 2, 2007

By 

Amanda Materne "marthamanda2" (California Bay Area, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Confessional (Hardcover)

J.L. Powers is an incisive writer with a great eye to the conflicts and challenges that face contemporary teens, especially in their interactions with religion, government and social systems. The 7 teen characters in _The Confessional_ are real, and oftentimes gritty, and Powers never shies away from showing us their complex emotions, and how these emotions can spurn them into actions condemned by contemoporary society. All of the characters, even the "bad" ones, have an undeniable humanity that allows the reader to see the bigger picture, and how the characters are a part of that big picture, for better or for worse.
Powers is an intelligent, thoughtful, and complex writer, and I eagerly await her next novel.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A controversy or dispute is a matter of opinion over which parties actively disagree, argue, or debate., August 14, 2007

By 

P. Gibson "old_golfer" (El Paso, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Confessional (Hardcover)

The book provides a unique approach to education, religion, and race. A book reading was canceled by a private school in El Paso, TX because some Chief Justice (retired) at the school objected to the book. You would think that a retired Chief Justice would support freedom of speech. He thought the book was anti catholic and new many curse words. I found that the characters always turn to their religion when faced with difficult times. He and I must have read different books. Read the book and see who was correct in their analysis.