CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse (Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry) [Paperback]

Juan Felipe Herrera (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

In this novel in verse--unprecedented in Chicano literature--renowned poet Juan Felipe Herrera illuminates the soul of a generation. Drawn from his own life as well as a lifetime of dedication to young people, CrashBoomLove helps readers understand what it is to be a teen, a migrant worker, and a boy wanting to be a boy.

Sixteen-year-old César García is careening. His father, Papi César, has left the migrant circuit in California for his other wife and children in Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for her son with dichos and tales of her own misspent youth. But at Rambling West High School in Fowlerville, the sides are drawn: Hmongs vs. Chicanos vs. everybody vs. César, the new kid on the block.

Precise and profound, CrashBoomLove will appeal to and resonate with high school readers across the country.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Though not particularly well written, this narrative poem is a real page-turner. The story is of the fairly conventional Rebel without a Cause/To Sir with Love genre: the new kid doesn't fit in at school, struggles to find his place, witnesses the death of a friend, and finally finds himself with the help of a teacher. The twist is that the rebel in question is a young Chicano, which allows Herrera to toss in scattered bits of native slang (footnoted ad nauseam). C?sar Garc'a is a confused, sometimes reckless, but always sympathetic figure who is struggling with his broken family, his sense of isolation, and his desire to just "crash against everything." He gets involved in petty crimes, some violence, and drugs, but he is always searching for something more. Unfortunately, while he's not quite one-dimensional, he rarely comes fully to life. Told entirely in his voice, the narrative at times becomes tiresome, or even pointless. However, some readers will relate to C?sar and his friends (outcasts and lonely, misunderstood adolescents) and to their alienation.
Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Herrera paints a devastating, yet ultimately hopeful portrait of Cesar Garcia, a 16-year-old Mexican teen growing up in the American high-school culture of Fowlerville, California. . . . Cesar is the classic example of Americas throwaway teen, a young man constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time who, because of his language and cultural differences, becomes more and more marginalized. It is also the story of an educational system that can occasionally make the difference in both teens and adults lives and futures. . . . a roller-coaster tour de force, remarkable for its ebulliant portrait of hope and survival. A must purchase. -- Booklist, January 1, 2000

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 165 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826321143
• ISBN-13: 978-0826321145
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Juan Felipe Herrera was initiated into the Word by the fire-speakers of the early Chicano Movimiento and by heavy exposure to various poetry, jazz, and blues performance streams. He is the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California - Riverside. His published works include Border-Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream, Mayan Drifter: Chicano Poet in the Lowlands of the Americas, and Thunderweavers / Tejedoras de Rayos.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic and well written, January 16, 2004

By 

Della Kennemore (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CrashBoomLove: A Novel In Verse (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry) (School & Library Binding)

This is a good story about a depressed teenaged boy. It's written like a poem through the entire book and it's really easy to understand. If you think you've got it bad, you should take a look at this guy's life.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting idea, with a mediocre story, March 24, 2000

By 

M. Tedholm - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse (Hardcover)

This story tries to be touching, cool, alienated and uplifting, at all at once, but it just doesn't work. The poems are original in verse, but the story itself is depressing and stereotyped. Cesar's father has run off. Cesar is a delinquent in a ghetto school, ruining his life quickly. But then after the Bad Experiences that Turn His Life Around, he realizes The Truth of Things and decides to Walk the Straight and Narrow Path. Indeed the poems are fresh, and different, and quick to read. It's easy to have empathy for Ceasr's frustration. But the author makes the mistake of using tons of gang lingo and terms, which are explained -horrors!- by footnotes, as though this were a clinical study of a wild animal (the teenager). After a few chapters, the reader no longer feels as though he is taking a rare look inside of a rare mind, trapped in pitifully normal circumstances. Instead, it seems as though one is merely watching a documentary on a bad little boy who learns from his mistakes and Lives Happily Ever After. Don't read this book for insight into the delinquent lifestyle. The book almost furthers the idea that one can do many drugs, and yet still have a brilliant mind. The story never makes up its mind as to its position on the Bohemian lifestyle, and that is where it falls short. Instead of a parable, or a biography, this book remains merely a book of freshly written, yet ultimately unfulfilling poems. Read it for the verse, and not the story.