Customer Reviews

Father Greg and the Homeboys: The Extraordinary Journey of Father Boyle and His Work with the Latino Gangs of East L.A.

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A friend of mine gave me the book "Father Greg And The Homeboys" a few months ago. He said I would like it for I am usually interested in gang related topics. He said it would show me WHY kids end up in gangs. Many of my friends have been or still are gang members and I myself, not so long ago, was pretty close to joining one. I reluctantly started reading the book but pretty soon I could not stop. I think I found the book to be so moving because it depicts how far compassion can reach and how much it can mean to all people, regardless of their condition. The book is by Celeste Fremon, a "Los Angeles Times" journalist who has documented Father Greg's work for over four years. It is a documentary which brings you in the heart of the East Los Angeles Latino gangs territory. Father Greg, a Jesuit priest affected to the Pico-Aliso Neighborhood, is a complicated and charismatic man. He offers hope to these young men and women, often children on whom the rest of the world has given up. He is some kind of a peacemaker, not hesitating to get in the line of fire when it could save lives. His work is acknowledged by the community. For example, the community petitioned to have him assigned back to "his" neighborhood after the Jesuit Order decided to transfer him away. He does not excuse gang activities but he understands why kids are forced into that way of life and what it takes to get them back. He attempts to send them back to school and/or to find them a place to work. "Father Greg" is a very interesting book. For one thing, it takes an original point of view: Father Greg's point of view. It describes and explains the gang phenomenon. It abstains from judging. In newspapers, radios and TVs, gang members are presented as evil monsters whose only goal in life is to kill each other, to kill bystanders and to make trouble of all sorts for law-abiding citizens; not mentioning their `cost' to society (I am tired of hearing people talking of other people in terms of `cost'). They are not presented as human beings. On the other hand, the book presents the human face of gang members. It describes them as real persons who generally were driven to gang banging by broken households and their quest for identity. It describes, very accurately in my opinion, the process by which young boys and girls are transformed into cold blooded murderers, sometimes killing kids they were raised with. Father Greg explains very well why kids become gang members: "It may sound simplistic, but I believe in that strategy with all my heart. A success for me is when it is clear to a kid that there exists at least one person who will love him no matter what. Most of us have tons of people in our lives who have that no-matter-what quality to the relationships. These kids don't. So hang on to your hat because their behavior will reflect that lack. And that's what this whole mess is about" I think that beyond explaining the logic that leads people to becoming gangsters, this book touches your heart in a very deep way. One of the most chilling passages of the book is when Father Greg comes to inform Maria that her teenaged son, Sergio, has been killed in a gang shooting: "It is lightly drizzling by the time Greg gets back to the projects, Silent still with him. Maria has moved out of the front porch of the apartment where she sits without moving as Greg parks his car and proceeds up the walkway towards her while Silent waits at a distance. On the porch, Greg takes one of Maria's hands and leans over to whisper in her hear." "He's dead" Maria's body begins rocking involuntary as she opens her mouth to scream."N-o-o-ooo!". She screams. "N-O-O-OOOOOOOO! Sergio!". The sounds of Maria's screams are at once terrible, primal, indelible. The Cuatro homies are gathered about twenty-five feet away from the house. They stand rock still, listening to Maria's screams. "I'm glad they're hearing it", says Greg, himself frantic and grief-stricken. "They never hear it. They see the crying. But they never hear that scream. I've always wanted them to hear that scream". Another moving passage is the poem that a young girl reads at her boyfriend's funeral. The boy's gang nickname is `Blue'. "I am not a metaphor or a symbol This you hear is not the wind in the trees, Nor a cat maimed in the street. I am being maimed in the street. It is I who weep, laugh, feel pain or joy. Speak this because I exist. This is my voice. These words are my words. My spirit speaks them. My mind speaks them from above. I am Blue. It is my voice you hear Near your ear. Now I know I was in your heart from the start". Father Greg has buried over 60 kids from his neighborhood. The book tells the story of some of them. These are simple, moving stories. These could be the story of my friend A. or L., or T. These are stories that the media do not tell. These are stories that people do not care about. I was deeply moved by the actions of this lone priest. I think he acts like Jesus would have acted in the same circumstances. I come to the understanding that the reason I like this book is that it is a book about the feeling of humanity finding its way in the worst of circumstances and touching people.

I had the pleasure of hearing Father Greg Boyle speak in my religion class at Santa Clara University earlier this year. I enjoyed his talk so much, I went to a subsequent one and it was there I was first introduced to his book. A wonderful book to compliment a wonderful person. Father Greg is truly an angel in human form.

I teach criminal justice courses at Dodge City Community College. One of the topics most students are interested in is hispanic gangs. I found this book to be excellent, and a number of students have also said positive things about the book. It gives the reader a realistic view of gang life in LA, and Father Greg's work is very encouraging. I tell my students that 1 person can make a difference in life, but most don't believe me. The book not only depited gang members and their lives, it also demonstrated some programs that were effective. I highly recommend the book!

Father Greg Boyle has done miracles that not everyone can do in working with youth at-risk, especially Latino gang members of East Los Angeles (the "mother-island" of gangs). It ONLY takes a special and unique person to attract and aquire respect from the so-called "lost human-beings" that are involved in gangs. Not all adults see these latino youth as "human beings" whatsoever. Father Greg deserves MORE recognition for what he has done in the Pico/Aliso neighborhoods. Highly recommend this book. May GOD bless "G."

FIRST OFF I WANT TO THANK FATHER GREG FOR CHANGING ALOT OF PEOPLES POINT OF VIEW ON GANSTERS ALOT OF PEOPLE JUDGE THE BOOK BY THERE COVER WELL FATHER GREG SPOKE THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PROJECTS IN EAST LOS I SHOULD KNOW I LIVED THERE AND I KNOW HIM AND ALOT OF THE GANG MEMBERS THAT FATHER GREG TALKED ABOUT HS BOOK. FATHER GREG TALKS ABOUT HOW HE EARNED HIS RESPECT FROM US GANG MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY NOT ONLY DOES HE INSPIRE PEOPLE WITH HIS BOOK BUT ALSO HE GETS RESPECT FOR NOT GIVING UP ON US HELPING US IN EVERYWAY POSSIBLE AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW ALOT MORE OF EAST LOS IN THE CITY OF ANGELS..

Fremon's account of Father Greg's early 1990's work in Boyle Heights, CA. is as moving and powerful a work as one is likely to read. The fact that this book is out of print (currently) is a crime!

I tend to always to back and read this book one more time. I'm an English Lit. major and love this book. I grew up some what in Pico/Aliso projects and that book reminds me of all that went on in those years. Ms. Freman performed an outstanding book!

Father Greg is an extraordinary man. He serves in the Boyle Heights area of LA. Hollenbeck division of the LAPD. This is a nasty part of town, in a town full of nasty places. It is particularly dangerous because it is where the Latino and Black gang boundaries overlap and abut. This translates to extreme gang violence. It is a place where compassion is in very short supply. Quite simply most compassionate people don't have the guts to set foot on these streets. It is the kind of neighborhood where you don't go out after dark ... period. People get killed in their living rooms from time to time by stray bullets aimed at someone else.

Father Greg is one of the most compassionate and giving people you will probably ever read about. He has held himself out as a life raft to these kids. These kids are not just troubled kids. They were troubled a long time ago, now they are just flat out dangerous people,and yet he is able to reach some of them with a simple gesture. He is the closest thing to a father that many of these kids will ever know. That he can bring even one back from the brink in this neighborhood is astounding. The fact that he has saved 100's, borders on miraculous. When he was to be transferred (as is the ordinary case in the Catholic Church) the desperate community outcry was so great that the church relented allowing him to stay.

This is a story about a man and his environment and a man who has discovered his purpose in life. It is an extraordinarily difficult calling. But he keeps at it. This book is his story, told in a journalistic style on a very intimate level. Extraordinary book and extraordinary story. This is a definite five star.

i bought this book as a christmas gift for my son. he loved it. if you have a teenage boy, get this book. you cant go wrong.

This was a deeply inspiring book, about how one person really can make a difference in the world. Father Greg Boyle found his calling inside the gang worlds of East Los Angeles. If a young member of a gang finds a job, Boyle makes sure the kid has the right clothes to wear. If he needs a ride to the safest bus stop outside of enemy gang territory, he gives the kid a ride in his car.

I live in Los Angeles, and reading this book gave me hope, left me feeling far more positive about LA. There are individuals who are doing incredible things, selfless acts, and I found the book to be inspiring. My only concern is that the author really went too far in her reporting and investigating, placing her own life and her five-year-old son's life in danger.