Customer Reviews

Muchacho: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eddie Corazon is a character who you won't soon forget.

He lives in a world where being a bad boy is the cool thing to do. He hangs out with his cousins in a bad neighborhood, and the boys are just on the edge of being juvenile delinquents. He skips school and gets poor grades as a matter of choice, but he is a secret reader, and poet. He has promised his Mami that he won't drop out of school, but he's pretty sure he will fail.

Then he meets Lupe, and his world changes. She brings out the best in Eddie, and sees things in him that he doesn't. Her father is none too happy about their relationship; he wants more for his smart, energetic daughter. Eddie doesn't seem to have a very bright future the way he is going, but then he begins to think like Lupe. Maybe he could make the future work for him, too.

It's hard to make changes in his behavior with his cousins and friends encouraging him to follow their lead...but Eddie really wants to be able to hang out with the beautiful, smart Lupe.

Eddie's transition is a very moving story with complex characters in a tough world. It shows that positive changes can be made through hard work and perseverance, and that the bad choices are tempting, but conquerable. The story is narrated by Eddie with straight-forward language and a viewpoint all his own, by turns funny and serious. Eddie is a boy who girls will fall in love with, and a guy boys will be able to relate to.

Highly recommended for even reluctant readers.

Reviewed by: Grandma Bev

Here's the best bang for your buck book-wise! Johnson has outdone herself with Muchacho... and it has earned a place on my top 10 favorite books of all time. Young and old alike will be charmed by Eddie, a character so vivid, his voice will intrude on your thoughts often. Compassion, humor, hope... Muchacho offers it all. Let's hope we haven't heard the last of Eddie Corazon!

I was so captivated by Muchacho that I read it straight through. Eddie is not just a well develoved character in a book. He is a living, breathing guy who tells us what's on his mind with honesty and humor. I was cheering him on throughout all of his hopes and temptations. Eddie charmed me completely! Muchacho is a must read. For that reason I bought two extra copies to donate to the local high school and public libraries in T or C. Thank goodness for the Miss Beechers and Miss Johnsons of the world!

Eddie Corazon, the narrator of this book, is one of the most likable and memorable characters I have encountered in a long time and I read a lot of YA books as a school librarian. I see "secret readers" like Eddie skulking around the library, trying to hike their books and their intelligence from their peers. His voice is authentic, his humor is funny, and his attempts to figure out where he fits in the universe really touch the heart. Eddie is surprised to discover that he is a poet. I'm not. From the first word, I knew this kid had the heart and soul of a poet.

I have met the author at various educational conferences and it's clear that her top priority is improving our public schools and helping teachers connect with kids like Eddie. I think teachers will love this book and their students will, too. Aside from being a compelling story, this book makes literary writing appealing to the everyday reader. The references to other books that young readers might enjoy, as well as the thought-provoking comments on topics such as immigration, English-language acquisition, Just Say No to Drugs, love and sex and marriage, and developing self-esteem and confidence will provide ample material for class discussions and related projects.

This book earns an A+ and front row display in my library!

Eddie Corazon is a juvenile delinquent who attends an alternative high school. He is going nowhere fast, and he knows that his future holds nothing good. Eddie is smart and has a loving heart, but these qualities are not valued in his neighborhood. He keeps his love of reading a secret. Then he meets Lupe, a motivated student and a beautiful girl who sees something special in Eddie. With the help of a caring teacher and a book called The Four Agreements, Eddie starts to make some of the choices that will help him create the life he longs for.

As a teacher, I loved Eddie and his transformation. I will be passing this book along to my students and waiting to hear what they think.

We continue to get great response from our eleventh grade reading lab students to Muchacho; I wish we'd taken before and after pictures of them when they were working on their state tests - I have NEVER seen such a dramatic attitude change in students. Several mentioned, in interviews two weeks ago, that they had finally put the reading pieces together while reading this book...it was wonderful to hear.

Teachers didn't understand, at first, how the book would reach students, because most of us don't come from the same place as our students, but now that they've heard the rich discussion, and have seen the students' level of engagement, teachers are reading the book differently, as well.

How I wish there had been a Louanne Johnson/Miss Beecher around to be in my learning disadvantaged son's life when he was in school! I believe his life would have been so much easier and better. I recognize so much of Eddie's way of thinking as that of my son's. Eddie's insecurities about himself and his hiding of his own opinions and abilities so he would fit in with his "friends" are all too familiar to me.

I love the way people came into Eddie's life at just the right time and how one by one they each planted the seeds of change and growth in his mind, each one adding to and reinforcing the others.

Also so important were the changes in Mr. McElroy's teaching methods after being gone a couple weeks. (Most likely to a seminar where he learned new ways to reach and motivate his students.) The usually bored and disinterested students became involved, and in spite of it being painful for them at times, they learned about feeling good about what they accomplished! They also gained respect for their fellow classmates.

This book is not only very entertaining and unforgettable but also one that I hope all teachers, parents, and young people will read! I think it holds keys to changing lives. I believe it is very important that Louanne keeps on writing, and I eagerly look forward to her next book!

This is absolutely the best book I've read this year! Funny, deep, real inside look at a teen in New Mexico growing up and learning that he has a future despite culture, language, gangs, and family issues. LouAnne Johnson is a talented story teller who not only tells the story of a struggling teen but lets us discover our own values as "Muchacho" discovers his....love the story, love Ms. Johnson's writing style. It's a winner!

Diane

I must admit that if the author, Louanne Johnson, wasn't the keynote speaker at a conference I attended, I would know nothing about Muchacho. I am eternally grateful for that opportunity.

Now on to the novel.

As a teacher of repeat freshmen, most of my students identify well with Eddie (the book's narrator). It has taken them seeing snippets of their lives' in print to decide to make important changes, both academic and personal. They don't want to put the book down long enough to complete the ancillary assignments that I found on the author's website.

Again, I'm thankful for the opportunity to read and share Muchacho with my students. I believe that I will have the lowest failure rate this grading period because of Eddie, because of Muchacho.

"Muchacho" is the story of a young, conflicted Hispanic male whose mind and heart are being pulled in several directions - family, friends, his present and future place in the world, and a budding "first love." It is also a story of the significant role teachers and the art of teaching play in Eddie's decision-making process. This novel could not have appeared at a better time, a time when education in America is circling the drain and students of every ethnic background and social strata are feeling the impact of less than acceptable teaching methods and standards. Steroid-laden sports figures are lauded as heroes and paid staggering amounts of money, yet teachers into whose hands we place the minds of our young people for hours each day must work at two or three jobs to survive. What's wrong with this picture? Ms. Johnson knows and through "Muchacho" as well as her books on teaching gives us hope that it's not too late to revise that picture.