The Mariposa Club [Paperback]

Rigoberto Gonzalez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

As they embark on their final year of high school, the Fierce Foursome—Maui, Trini, Isaac, and Liberace—decide to do something big, something that will memorialize their friendships for when they all go their separate ways and begin their new “adult” lives.

Already accustomed to the hardships that come with being openly gay in high school (not to mention in their homes), the boys can’t begin to imagine what they will be faced with when they set out to create Caliente Valley High School’s first GLBTQ club.

All four boys are remarkably different, and they have been brought together for the time being by their shared feelings of being on the periphery at school, at home, and in the community. But once the Mariposa Club is formed, they will not only have a place where they belong and that is all their own, but it will be a place for future students who feel as displaced as they do.

Little do they know that when the town is rocked by a tragic homophobic incident, the high school and entire community will turn to the Mariposa Club as a symbol of their grief and fear.

Poet, author, and activist Rigoberto González has penned two poetry books; two bilingual children’s books; a novel, Crossing Vines; a story collection, Men without Bliss; and a memoir, Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa, winner of the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and is on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle. He is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Published works include a memore, Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa, Other Fugitives and Other St

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593501064
• ISBN-13: 978-1593501068
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,070,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young Adult Classic in the Making, May 2, 2009

By 

dkmcd "Dan" (Dearborn, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mariposa Club (Paperback)

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! This novel joins the books of Alex Sanchez as true classics in the making and should be required reading for everyone of high school age, regardless if they are gay or straight. Real, believable characters in real situations. The author speaks with his audience and not down to his readers, as is far too often the case. Enjoy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mariposa Club: A Gay Teen Classic, August 24, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Erno (Oxford, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mariposa Club (Paperback)

Mauricio Gutierrez is a seventeen-year-old, openly-gay student at Caliente High School in southern California. He and his three best friends Isaac, Trini, and Liberace make up what they affectionately refer to as the "Fierce Foursome". They set out to bring change to their small-town, largely-Hispanic high school by starting a gay/straight alliance group. They dub it the "Mariposa Club".

The story is told by the voice of Maui, and he clearly is the most sensitive of the four. He lives with his Papi and his sister Mickey; his mother passed a few years prior to cancer. All four of the principle characters are gay, and all are virgins.

The story focuses upon Maui's struggle to cope with being gay in a small town as well as his angst about earning his father's approval. Of the three other group members, Maui is closest to Isaac, and the two love one another like brothers. Trini, the most effeminate of the group, is more like a sister to Maui. And Lib is the politically active member of the group--an overweight, goth-clad intellectual.

The story offers the reader a slice of these remarkable characters' lives over the course of one year, their senior year. The turmoil that they each face in relation to their familial relationships is realistically and heartbreakingly presented. Their disagreements and dramatic feuds with one another are comical and realistic. The love and loyalty they have for one another is palpable and poignant.

Rigoberto Gonzalez very skillfully relates a delicious and endearing tale of friendship, forgiveness, and acceptance in his young-adult novel, The Mariposa Club. He presents a dialogue that is crisp and humorous, and above all believable. He draws the reader into the mind and heart of Maui in a manner seldom seen in the first-person narrative.

The book was a quick read, mainly because it was so difficult to put down. It was a story rich with emotion and comedy, and it delivered a powerful and meaningful message. Although we cannot always change our world, we can strive to protect ourselves from allowing our world to change us.

I highly recommend this book for adults and teenagers. I was troubled by two minor elements within the book. The first of these was the constant use of feminine pronouns when referring to the male central characters. It became confusing at times, and I did not understand why these young gay men would be referred to as female being that none were transgendered. Secondly, I found it hard to believe that four gay teenagers who were so close to one another were all virgins. It seemed the author wrote the story this way to remain in a teenage market, but it was not quite believable. I would have thought they'd have at the very least experimented with one another.

In spite of my reservations, I feel the book is outstanding, and I will not hesitate to recommend it highly as both a beautiful coming-of-age story as well as a gay-themed young adult novel.

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging novel, September 7, 2010

By 

J. Villasenor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mariposa Club (Paperback)

An enjoyable, captivating read throughout, Rigoberto Gonzalez's "Mariposa Club" is yet another great addition to the burgeoning GLBTQ teen genre of books. I found myself thoroughly engaged with the characters that makeup the "Fierce Foursome", wishing they were around when I was in high school.

Probably the only thing that didn't seem to fit in with the story, in my opinion, was the character of "David" or "Davey-Wavey", as he's mentioned in the book. His brief, if not creepy, appearance didn't seem to propel the story or add to the dynamics of the plots, but merely coming off as a PSA toward younger teens. That said, this latest of Mr. Gonzalez's work is definitely worth a read, and am looking forward to reading more of his work, present and future.