"Sáenz' poetic narrative will captivate readers from the first sentence to the last paragraph of this beautifully written novel. . . . It is also a celebration of life and a song of hope in celebration of family and friendship, one that will resonate loud and long with teens."—Kirkus Reviews
"…There is never a question of either Sáenz’s own extraordinary capacity for caring and compassion or the authenticity of the experiences he records in this heartfelt account of healing and hope."—Booklist
"Offering insight into [an adolescent's] addiction, dysfunction and mental illness, particularly in the wake of traumatic events, Sáenz's artful rendition of the healing process will not soon be forgotten."—Publishers Weekly
"Sáenz weaves together [18-year-old] Zach's past, present, and changing disposition toward his future with stylistic grace and emotional insight. This is a powerful and edifying look into both a tortured psyche and the methods by which it can be healed."—School Library Journal
Zach is eighteen. He is bright and articulate. He's also an alcoholic and in rehab instead of high school, but he doesn't remember how he got there. He's not sure he wants to remember. Something bad must have happened. Something really, really bad. Remembering sucks and being alive—well, what's up with that?
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Starred Review. Grade 9 Up—At 18, Zach finds himself in a therapeutic residential program as both an alcoholic and a post-traumatic-stress patient. In evocative and compelling language, Sáenz allows an at-first barely articulate, almost amnesiac Zach to show his progress toward remembering and integrating his past into a present with which he can cope. He is guided along the way by a sympathetic and wise therapist, a middle-aged roommate whose own recovery is on an arc ahead of the youth's, and several credible and interesting minor characters. The techniques and realities of such a facility are realistic and fully drawn: addicts who gather for cigarettes, nightmares, group sessions, breathing therapy. Sáenz weaves together Zach's past, present, and changing disposition toward his future with stylistic grace and emotional insight. This is a powerful and edifying look into both a tortured psyche and the methods by which it can be healed.—Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia END
Review
"Sáenz weaves together Zach’s past, present, and changing disposition toward his future with stylistic grace and emotional insight. This is a powerful and edifying look into both a tortured psyche and the methods by which it can be healed." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Offering insight into addiction, dysfunction and mental illness, particularly in the wake of traumatic events, Sáenz’s artful rendition of the healing process will not soon be forgotten." —Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"Zach's first-person voice is compelling and heartbreaking. Sáenz' poetic narrative will captivate readers from the first sentence to the last paragraph of this beautifully written novel, which explores the painful journey of an adolescent through the labyrinth of addiction and alcoholism. It is also a celebration of life and a song of hope in celebration of family and friendship, one that will resonate loud and long with teens." —Kirkus Reviews
"There is never a question of either Sáenz’s own extraordinary capacity for caring and compassion or the authenticity of the experiences he records in this heartfelt account of healing and hope." —Booklist
"Benjamin Alire Saenz’s new novel is a gift of honesty and poetry and heart… This novel sang to me from the opening page and never once hit a false note." —Matt de la Peña
"I cried with Zach all the way through this book: tears of rage and sorrow—sometimes laughing—and finally, tears of hope and joy. Thanks to Ben Saenz’ pitch-perfect writing, Zach will stay in my heart for a long time." —Linda Sue Park, author of When My Name Was Keoko
"Benjamin Alire Sáenz's most devastating and exquisite novel to date." —El Paso Times
"Zach’s story as an alcoholic is a painful but positive reaffirmation of the human spirit." —Library Media Connection
"Sáenz does a wonderful job of painting Zach’s struggle while in a rehab center where the Zach fights his inner monster. This inspirational story can help middle to high school students learn about the beauty of life, hope, healing and family." —Oneota Reading Journal
"Last Night I Sang to the Monster will provide younger readers with reassurance that they are not alone in dealing with the demons of dysfunctional families and painful memories." —El Paso Scene
Benjamin Alire Sáenz was born in 1954 in his grandmother's house in Old Picacho, a small farming village in the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1954. He was the fourth of seven children and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla Park. Later, when the family lost the farm, his father went back to his former occupation--being a cement finisher. His mother worked as a cleaning woman and a factory worker. During his youth, he worked at various jobs--painting apartments, roofing houses, picking onions, and working for a janitorial service. He graduated from high school in 1972, and went on to college and became something of a world traveler. He studied philosophy and theology in Europe for four years and spent a summer in Tanzania. He eventually became a writer and professor and moved back to the border--the only place where he feels he truly belongs. He is an associate professor in the MFA creative writing program at the University of Texas at El Paso, the only bilingual creative writing program in the country. Ben Saenz considers himself a fronterizo, a person of the border. He is also a visual artist and has been involved as a political and cultural activist throughout his life. Benjamin Sáenz is a novelist, poet, essayist and writer of children's books. His young adult novel Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood was selected as one of the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2005, and his prize-winning bilingual picture books for children--A Gift from Papá Diego and Grandma Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas--have been best-selling titles. A Perfect Season for Dreaming is Ben's newest bilingual children's book which has received two starred reviews, one from Publishers Weekly and one from Kirkus Reviews. He has received the Wallace Stegner Fellowship, the Lannan Fellowship and an American Book Award. His first book of poems, Calendar of Dust, won an American Book Award in 1992. That same year, he published his first collection of short stories, Flowers for the Broken. In 1995, he published his first novel, Carry Me Like Water (Hyperion), and that same year, he published his second book of poems, Dark and Perfect Angels. Both books were awarded a Southwest Book Award by the Border Area Librarians Association. In 1997, HarperCollins published his second novel, The House of Forgetting. Ben is a prolific writer whose more recent titles include In Perfect Light (Rayo/Harper Collins), Names on a Map (Rayo/Harper Collins), He Forgot to Say Goodbye (Simon and Schuster), and two books of poetry Elegies in Blue (Cinco Puntos Press), and Dreaming the End of War (Copper Canyon Press).
For several years I worked in a therapeutic setting for male juvenile sex offenders. What a gift this book would have been back then. Before I launch into my accolades, let me state that there are elements of this book that many adults may find to be lacking in authenticity. In other words, Zach at times says things that I know someone with his troubled mind would not say. Most certainly he would not have finished this program as quickly as he does in the novel. But remember this: the book was not written for adults although I highly recommend for adults. The other reviews provide you with information about where Zach is and why he is there. So I will not do that. Instead I want to focus upon why we need more books like this. Millions of kids grow up in hostile homes. And so much damage is done by parents who do not have the skills needed to be effective parents. Most situations are not as overwheming as Zach's, of course, with his many addictions as well as his seeming inability to relate to anyone, to trust anyone. The reader, however, will not know the full reason until the end. In other words there is a plot. The book is very engaging, skillfully written albeit not exactly authentic in the voice of an 18-year-old in a few places. I quite literally did not want to put it down. So I spent the entire day reading it. And now I am about to order three copies as gifts to people I think will find it a rich experience.
Zach is spending his senior year of High School in rehab. He almost died of alcohol poisoning, found on the side of the road one night. Zach can't remember what happened nor does he want to. In rehab Zach must admit he has a problem with alcohol and begin putting his life back together.
This novel was intense, beautiful, strong and believable. I finished this novel awhile back, Zach is still with me. I remember Zach worry about where his monster comes from (maybe his brother) or what God tattooed on his heart.
"I keep seeing a newspaper being toosed around in the wind. And then a strong gust comes along and the newspaper is thrown against a barbed wire fence and it gets ripped to shreds in an instant. That's how I feel. I think God is the wind. It's all like a game to him. Him. God. And it's all pretty much random. He takes out his pen and starts writing on our blank hearts. When it came to my turn, he wrote sad. I don't like God very much. Apparently he doesn't like me very much either. "
Zach becomes close friends with Rafael his roommate who is old enough to be his father. I can't even begin to try to find the words to describe how beautiful their friendship was.
"My lips were trembling and I couldn't make them stop. And there were salty tears running down my face and I couldn't see. I just closed my fists tight until I could feel my lips stop trembling. Then the tears stopped. And then I took a breath and then I unclenched my fists. I looked down at the floor. I could feel the words coming out of my mouth, could feel them, the words I didn't want to speak. "The last time - the last time I felt really alive was when Rafael sang to me."
The authors writing is beautiful and poetic. Zach is as three dimensional as they come. Last Night I Sang to the Monster is a wonderful and unforgettable realistic YA novel featuring a male protagonist.
I'm going to do what Zach doesn't do for the first half of this book; I'm going to be honest. I gave the book 5 stars for the story, not for the writing. It felt a bit forced, and the prose didn't "flow". It was slow to start, but once the plot unfolds the book takes off. I had to put the book down a few times because I was in tears, it's heartbreaking, but it's a beautiful story. Walking besides Zach while he sobers himself up and deals with his "monsters" is difficult. There are parts in the book that are raw and deeply emotional, and that will haunt me for a lifetime. The ending was amazing, and I was a bit sad to put it down. Amazing story, heartbreakingly beautiful. The only two words I can think of to describe this book.
