Customer Reviews

The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At seventeen, Pancho has decided the last thing he needs to do with his life: kill the man he thinks responsible for the death of his sister. It's not so simple, though...first he has to figure out who exactly the man is, how to find him, and how to get past the annoying, aggravatingly happy D.Q., another teen boy with a mission of his own: live life to the fullest in his last months...before he dies of brain cancer. And...honestly...I can't do justice to the plot here. Throw in some conversations about life, death, faith, love. Mix up with heart-wrenching backgrounds, wise children, foolish adults, and sucking every drop of marrow from life.

As my little synopsis probably makes clear, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is one of those fathoms-deep, meaningful stories that you rarely come across in YA lit. It is also an extremely subtle story--almost too subtle for my taste (the ending didn't feel wrapped-up enough for me), yet I love the way it left me thinking after I finished it. I can guarantee that it will make you question the way you're living your life, embrace the beauty of every day, and appreciate things you never thought to notice. You will never forget Pancho and D.Q. or the friends they make on their journey--Francisco Stork is a master at character and relationship development, and these aspects of the story are truly what make it shine. Even every description, although technically all of them are extremely basic and simply worded, serves to develop character--and does so perfectly.

As a bit of a warning, this is a very difficult book to read...certainly not in actual pacing or readability, but simply because it delves into topics and a world that are hard to be in. This is not a story to be read casually, and it is certainly for mature readers who can handle its issues. Yet it is a beautiful book, and it is an important book.

Wow. It has been a long time since I've come across a YA book with as much depth as this one. Frankly, it completely floored me.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is a modern day adaptation of Cervantes' Don Quixote. But you don't need to be at all familiar with that work in order to appreciate this novel.

Pancho is a robust young man (17 yrs old), driven by the desire to avenge the murder of his sister. D.Q. is also 17, but seems ageless, wise beyond his years, and is dying of cancer. On the surface they have nothing in common: Pancho is all brute strength and bitterness; D.Q. is passionate, optimistic, eerily intelligent, and desperate to live life to its fullest, even though (or perhaps because) he doesn't have much time left. They meet in an orphanage, and D.Q., sensing something special about Pancho, immediately recruits him to be a Death Warrior. What is a Death Warrior? The concept is inspired by Henry David Thoreau's famous declaration in Walden, "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." According to the Death Warrior Manifesto that D.Q. has been writing,

"Anyone can be a Death Warrior, not just someone who is terminally ill. A Death Warrior accepts death and makes a commitment to live a certain way, whether it be for one year or thirty years...Once you accept that life will end, you can become a Death Warrior by choosing to love life at all times and in all circumstances. You choose to love life by loving."

I finished the book last night (eyes still red this morning from the weeping...happy weeping as well as sad weeping), and I can already tell this is going to be a book that stays with me for a long time...one that I will be harassing friends and family to read asap so I have someone to discuss it with. The philosophy of the Death Warrior is simple but powerful. Who hasn't felt the haunting sense that we're wasting the limited time we have on this planet? It's easy to ignore that sensation and just carry on with our daily routine...but The Last Summer of the Death Warriors gives you a righteous sense of shame for doing so, without being preachy. No small feat.

The book has a bit of everything: action, romance, poignancy, humor, villains, heroes, life philosophy etc. Come to think of it, the only thing it's lacking is vampires. Just kidding!

READ IT!!!!

It's easy for a plot-driven book to beguile its readers, but a character-driven book? That's much more of a rarity, not to mention a blessing. Francisco X. Stork's THE LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS is just such a book -- you reach the last page despite yourself because, truth be told, you hate to bid farewell to the characters he has created.

Pancho is an angry young man whose fury with life becomes confused by circumstances. He's a tough 17-year-old kid who knows how to fight and even loves the release of hitting and being hit. Worse still, in the course of the last year he's lost his father to natural causes, his mentally-handicapped sister to murder, and life as he knew it to an orphanage that he longs to escape.

Enter the "Death Warrior": Daniel Quentin (D.Q.), a precocious 17-year-old with one year to die (because we're all dying, he insists) due to brain cancer. D.Q. meets Pancho's anger and cynicism with unrelenting optimism and hope to the point where Pancho becomes confused and, yes, even more angry at times. It's no small task, but Stork creates D.Q.'s character with deft strokes which dodge sentimentality and embrace gritty, realistic humor. The exchanges between these boys are typical of teenagers with insults, brutal honesty, and grudging respect.

In a reverse of expectations (something this book offers in spades), it is D.Q. telling Pancho to stop his whining. Writing a manifesto about "Death Warriors," D.Q. creates a fantasy world of ninja-like goals where death must be accepted, invincibility must be dismissed, and love must be used as a weapon until the Grim Reaper's embrace can no longer be dodged. Pancho has to listen to this nonsense because he is paid to serve as D.Q.'s assistant. This job is one major headache for Pancho, whose less-ideal goals include hunting down his sister's killer, vigilante-style, and murdering him in cold blood.

Stork weaves in compelling complications. There's the beautiful Marisol, whom D.Q. idealizes as a romantic lover who might accept him despite the cancer. When Pancho starts to fall under her allure as well, he meets an opponent he has more difficulty in knocking out -- a love which can only make him "soft" and distract him from his murderous mission. And, at the children's hospital in Albuquerque where Pancho has traced his sister's murderer, we meet Josie, an irrepressible girl with leukemia who says unfiltered whatever she thinks and figures out, and she thinks and figures out a lot -- most of it embarrassing. Meanwhile, there are tense episodes of violence as Pancho cannot seem to quench his thirst for fighting. At times you wonder if HIS days will be shorter than D.Q.'s, whether from mixing it up with lowlifes on the city streets or from his doomed mission to murder a murderer.

This is a rare treat in the YA genre: a novel that blends philosophy with pugilism, cancer with candor, and anger with attraction. The ending is unflinchingly realistic and the book destined to become a classic character study in its field. Highly recommended for mature middle school, high school, and, yes, adult readers.

We meet Pablo as he's arriving at St. Anthony's, an orphanage ran by monks. His sister Rose recently died in a hotel room and he's been trying to convince the police that foul play was involved. Rose was mentally challenged and she wouldn't be with a man in a motel room. Pablo's assigned to DQ, a young man in a wheelchair who needs assistance to get around. Reluctantly, Pablo learns this is probably DQ's last summer--he's got cancer and is not expected to live more than six months.

Pablo's working on Rose's case every spare minute and DQ is writing a book, The Manifesto of the Death Warrior. Oddly, their causes mesh and the two form a strong bond that won't break even after the transitory relationship.

The book's surprisingly easy to read, but it's going to be hard to forget. This is definitely one novel you're going to want to reserve a several hours to read because you're not going to want to put it down. Characters and situation are both compelling and the writing is straightforward and from the heart.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2010

On the surface Pancho and DQ are opposites. Pancho is a seventeen year old orphan who is so filled with anger at the death of his father and sister that he can't see anything around him. He is truly blinded by his overwhelming desire to avenge the death of his sister. DQ is a teen who is dying of cancer. These two meet up and soon discover that they actually have a lot in common. They are both searching for hope; and both are coming to terms with their coming deaths (DQ's actual death and Pancho's sacrifice of himself for his sister). DQ's Death Warrior Manifesto is his struggle to accept his fate, and his desire to share it with Pancho is what gifts Pancho with exactly what he needs to move on with his life. There are plenty of things to discuss and think about here. This is a rich layered story, that while not much for action, is full of things to ponder and characters to revel in. The author takes an unflinching, unsentimental look at death that sets this book apart from the many other teen books that deal with death and dying.

This will no doubt have big appeal to older teen boys who maybe don't consider their own mortality that often. It is beautifully written and will leave readers perhaps considering their own manifesto.

I have felt this way about other works by lauded authors - I go into the book expecting a repeat of whatever amazing work came first, in this case, 'Marcelo in the Real World.' I think there's a lot of controlled beauty in Stork's writing, and I appreciate the thoughtful approach to his stories, but the book in general left me a bit cold. The voice of the protagonist, an angry, irritating teenager named Pancho, was sometimes uneven and so it was difficult to follow Pancho where he went, literally and metaphorically. I was never entirely sure about his actions, even if I understood his motivations, which ended up being not only confusing but left me a bit disinterested. I think the character of DQ was relatable and genuine, but the 'Death Warrior' connection between him and Pancho wasn't as powerful as it should be, especially considering it was the crux of the work.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is a unique YA read in that it touches upon not only death and cancer, but also murder and revenge, all from a male perspective.

17-year-old Pancho ends up in a home for boys after his sister's death, shortly after losing their father. With no one else to care for him, Pancho is sent to St. Anthony's where he meets 17-year-old D.Q., a kid with a feisty spirit but a body broken from a rare form of brain cancer. D.Q.'s sometimes frank and often stark look on life stems from his diagnosis, as he doesn't expect he has much longer to live.

The friendship between Pancho and D.Q. is a strange one in that it is not a reciprocal relationship at first. Pancho is paid by the head of St. Anthony's to care for D.Q. since he needs a fair bit of looking after. When they go to Albuquerque for D.Q.'s treatment, their friendship begins to solidify. Pancho brings a gun with him, intent on finding his sister's murderer and bringing him to justice. In the process, a love triangle develops between D.Q., Pancho, and the lovely Marisol, which throws a wrench in the relationship between D.Q. and Pancho. Pancho struggles to come to grips with his feelings for Marisol while he also comes to terms with his anger at his sister's killer.

While I enjoy a good YA read as a guilty pleasure, this one (while quite enjoyable) did not register off the charts for me, which is why I have marked it at four stars. However, I do think that this book will be very popular with it's target audience: males around their mid-teens, so in that aspect Stork's writing is a great success.

I was so eager to read this new book by the author of Marcelo in the Real World, which I thought was one of the best books of 2009. I was not disappointed by this new novel, which like Marcelo in the Real World, deals with profound moral issues in a way that still manages to be entertaining and not heavy-handed. Also, with the plethora of fantasy titles that are coming out these days, it is refreshing to read something that is not about fairies or vampires, but rather about real people dealing with real problems. In this story, our hero, Pancho, has had a hard life--his father and disabled sister have both died--his father in an accident, and his sister, possibly murdered. Pancho is obsessed with finding out what actually happened to his sister and exacting revenge on whoever was responsible. Because he is still a minor, Pancho is placed in an orphanage of sorts, where he is assigned to help take care of D.Q., another resident who happens to be dying of cancer. D.Q. is determined to live his final days to the fullest, even if it means refusing treatment that may prolong his life, and is writing his thoughts in his own Death Warrior Manifesto. Pancho is drawn into the drama of D.Q.'s life, where the two of them struggle with love--with both of them falling for the same girl who helps out at the cancer center-- death, and faith. This is another outstanding novel from Francisco X. Stork--one that readers will not soon forget.

This is a good story, creative and engaging from beginning to end. The main characters, Pancho, D.Q. and Marisol, all ring authentic, and have adequate depth to keep the story believable and real. Ryan Gessell does a solid job narrating the audiobook, especially capturing the quiet but strong voice of D.Q.

The reason for 4-stars instead of 5 is I read Marcelo in the Real World before reading this book. Marcelo was so amazing that it set the bar too high for Last Summer of the Death Warriors to live up to. If you're new to Francisco Stork's work, read Marcelo in the Real World first.

I'm not technically a YA anymore but I really enjoyed this book. I liked Pancho, the strong but silent type, who has every right to be angry after everything that has happened to him (he lost his mother young, his father died in a freak accident at his workplace and his sister passed away under mysterious circumstances and Pancho believes she was murdered). He is particularly traumatized by his sister's death and decides to plot revenge against the man he believed killed her.

Since he's an orphan and not quite of age, he is sent to a foster home for boys where he meets D.Q. (who is so upbeat and quirky that he is borderline annoying) a boy with advanced brain cancer. D.Q. latches on to Pancho almost instantly. Despite Pancho's initial reluctance to befriend him, Pancho decides to be his buddy and caretaker when D.Q. asks Pancho to accompany him to Casa Esperanza, a home away from home for kids with cancer. Pancho agrees because this brings him to Albuquerque, where he believes his sister's killer lives.

Throughout the story, Pancho's tough demeanor softens and D.Q. isn't as bright and sunny because he's so gravelly ill. There isn't much of a plot, but the most of the characters are very multifarious and that keeps the story interesting. The love triangle aspect of the story is very fascinating and Pancho's reluctance to get involved in a relationship with Marisol because he knows D.Q. is in love with her, is telling of how much he grows to care for D.Q.

I won't reveal the ending but I wasn't surprised by it because there was a lot of foreshadowing beforehand. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five was that the ending seemed very rushed, compared to relatively slow pace of the rest of the book. Overall, though, I liked it and think it's a great story for YA readers.