Customer Reviews

Prizefighter en Mi Casa

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Remember when you were in growing up and school in South Texas? The Cocooey or the Boogeyman, and words like teenage pregnancy, welfare or Lone Star, Wetbacks and Whitetrash were not uncommon? This book takes me back to those days when I first moved to Texas and heard those words. I also have epilepsy in my family. I think this book brings out the good and the bad of all worlds in a courageous and spirited way.
I love Chula's character and how she finds her strength as she copes with her "flashes"/epilepsy, school, her family, home life, and sibling rivalry with Richie. The mystery of El Jefe, his connections to the family, and their needs drew me more into the story.
There is also in this story the everyday youth issues like school stuff (friends, enemies, and grades), gangs and crime, ethnic stereotypes & prejudices. I love the use of juvenile and mexican/Tex-Mex vocabulary and grammar.
I can't wait for more from Ms. Charlton-Trujillo!

Prizefighter en Mi Casa will be a great read aloud for my sophomore English class. Our themes are "The Hero" and "The Journey," and Charlton-Trujillo's novel deals with both. Chula is a very accessible narrator, and the brother-sister relationship feels true-to-life. The aura of mystery around El Jefe will keep my kids guessing. All these ingredients, plus excellent writing, make Prizefighter a fantastic choice for my classroom!

What I liked most about this book was that all the characters were brave in their own way. Especially Chula, who has more courage than any of the adults. I loved the way Chula and Richie fight but take care of each other too. They're just like real brothers and sisters. The story is exciting and a little scary, but it makes you think. El Jefe is mysterious and complicated -- I wish a prizefighter like him would come to stay at my house. I recommend this book no matter how old you are.

Little girl befriends large hulking male giant. It's the kind of image that sticks in your brain, isn't it? From the little girl in Frankenstein offering him a flower to King Kong and Fay Ray, the idea of a beauty taming a beast regardless of age sets off something in our reptilian brains. Maybe it's the contrast of the characterss or the juxtaposition of hulk and human, but people gravitate to this kind of story. And yet, for all of that, "Prizefighter En Mi Casa", stands out. This isn't just a tale of a girl and her BFG. This is a story where the child in question wants to learn strength from her gigantic friend. Though we've seen this kind of story told a million times before, we've never seen it done so convincingly. It's a book that teaches power to the powerless. Give it up for the meek.

Things were bad for Chula's family, but she never expected they'd become THIS bad. I mean, sure her dad's in a wheelchair and it was his drunk driving that gave Chula the epilepsy that's marked her at school as a freak. And sure her brother's running with a gang and her mother's growing colder and more distant by the day. But did they have to invite a monster into their home? His name is El Jefe, "The Boss" and he's not the Devil. He's the Boss of the Devil. A unbeatable prizefighter in Mexico, El Jefe has done Chula's father a favor and has come to southern Texas to take on a fight that could mean a lot of prize money. Once Chula gets past her initial fear of her enormous housemate, she finds she can confess to him the fears and thoughts she'd never dare speak out loud amongst her family members. Chula wants to be strong, but she doesn't know how to go about it. She seems trapped in a circle of poverty and suspects that by not taking her epilepsy pills she might grow stronger. But when she begins to learn more about El Jefe's past and the extent to which her brother is involved with the Dark Skins, Chula may have to redefine what is right, what is wrong, and what is human.

Sometimes when I'm reviewing book I'll do some brief coo about the language and then quote a particular sentence I might have found moving or unforgettable. The problem with "Prizefighter En Mi Casa" is that if I went about quoting all the lines I liked I'd have to write paragraph after paragraph of significant verses before getting to any silly details like "plot" or "characters". So I'll make you a compromise. Here are a mere four lines of writing from the book that struck me as examples of primo writing. Make of them what you will:

"El Jefe's shadow clawed the hall wall before his way big body."

"Sprinkles scattered like lost children hoping to find their mothers soon."

"Not to mention, nobody went down to the Playground after dark anymore unless they were dark enough in the heart not to be seen."

"He placed his thick scaly hand on my cheek and smiled like people do when they think they have to and their face don't wanna."

Did you see that? Did you see how Charlton-Trujillo can rip apart a situation with the light touch of a single sentence? What we are dealing with here is an author that puts her characters into terrible danger and great moral peril and then redeems them with a well-placed thought or description. Under a heavier hand this might leave a reader feeling tired or weighed down by a narrative they can't hope to understand. With this author, however, you read on and on in the hope that maybe at some point the characters will realize how self-destructive their behavior really is. And I can tell you this, my friend . . . Chula? Her insight keeps the book from ever bogging down in its own depression. After all, "Prizefighter En Mi Casa" is many things, but light-hearted romp it is not.

The book felt real too. It felt familiar. For kids growing up in areas that are not in states bordering Mexico, the racism in this book may strike them as overblown. They may think, "I know Hispanic kids in my school. It's not like that!", which would be nice if it were true. Writing about racism in a contemporary novel is way more difficult than setting your book in the past, by the way. It has to acknowledge that the world today is not a beautiful everybody-loves-everybody type of place. And the author deftly shows how this racial situation has warped Chula's family. The question of how to escape the life she was born into is always there. And the answer, for the record, is just as complicated as the question.

I liked that you began the story entirely from Chula's point of view about her older sibling. He's a jerky brother not too unlike a lot of jerky brothers out there. Then, as the reader gets more and more engrossed in the story, you discover the source of some of Richie's rage. His father used to be (and may still be) a drinker who'd sometimes embarrass his offspring. "I think it was funny most of the time really, and told Richie he was being too sensitive-like and he'd just make for the door or disappear in his room till we almost forget he'd even come home." When the book begins you're vaguely aware that a horrible thing occurred sometime in the past and it's created a hole in the family structure. Then, with a meticulousness Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller would been proud of, the true tale comes to light, tying together the past and the present.

There were some odd moments where Charlton-Trujillo would try to connect the story to contemporary figures like Justin Timberlake and the like. This probably wasn't necessary and it'll date an otherwise timeless book in ten years or less. Still, the title is a strong effort and a story worth reading. It's not a book that I, as a child, would have loved. I was far more into fancy fantasy than gritty realism when I was young. For some kids, however, Chula's story will suck them in and not loosen its grip until they crossed the 210th page. It's hard and it's fast and it's amazing. I wouldn't call it pleasant, but I would call it a necessary read. Powerful.

This book is an excellent choice to enrich classroom libraries. Beautifully written, the characters (Chula and her family) are strong portrayals of a family struggling with their own personal and societal demons in Texas. A compelling addition to any middle school Spanish language program, as Trujillo's novel gives insight into a culture not often depicted with such forthrightness and authenticity.

This is just a simply great read. So nicely written that children will like the story itself. It is a lot to grasp so I am not sure that this book is verbally on the level of the age group that it is associated with. I am considering it for 10 year olds but again, the level of reading may confuse my audience. This book may be better for children 12 and up- the age of the main character. Definitely worth the read and well written.

I will remember Chula and El Jefe for a very long time! I loved the complexities inherent in all Chula's relationships: with her brother and his friends, with Abuela and her progressive dementia, with her mother and her struggles to keep the family from falling apart, with her ostracized aunt Josie, with her two best friends, with "Ross the Floss," and most of all with El Jefe and her own epilepsy. This is probably one of the most "real" novels I've ever read, and everything in it rings true. A very powerful novel!

Twelve year old Chula, her brother, parents and Abuela are Mexicans who live in poverty in South Texas. Things get worse when her father, who had been a drunk, had a car accident that leaves him in a wheelchair incapable of working, and Chula with a debilatating head injury that results in epilepsy. The father squanders the very last of the family's money on backing an illegal prizefight with the mythical Dark One, El Jefe, against Golden Gloves, a local promising young white fighter from the rich side of town. Since the accident, Chula has been an outcast because of her epilepsy, disfigurement and poor accomplishments in school. And although she and all the neighbors are scared to death of the prizefighter and his spooky reputation of killing a man, Chula and the prizefighter become tender friends. Yes, the prizefighter killed someone, yes the fight with Golden Gloves ends as horribly as you can imagine, and yes, the prizefighter in Chula's casa helps her to find the prizefighter within herself. A concise, inspiring story full of the awful grit of a family struggling against tense and powerful odds.

PRIZEFIGHTER EN MI CASA is a heartfelt and often heart-wrenching novel about a Mexican-American girl growing up in Texas. Ever since the car accident that left her father paralyzed and unable to work, 12-year-old Chula Sanchez has suffered seizures that make her an even bigger target for teasing in her junior high school than her Mexican heritage did. She has few friends, and her relationship with her parents and older brother has suffered as well. Then her father comes up with a plan to make money for the family: bring a famous and feared prizefighter from Mexico into the town for an illegal boxing match.

The novel's main strength is its characters. Chula, who narrates the story, has a believable, distinctive voice. She doesn't hold back as she shares her sharp and sometimes bitter observations of her family and community. No super-girl, she doesn't always make the best decisions in dealing with her problems, but they are always decisions that make sense. The minor characters are also well-developed and distinctive, from the hulking shadow of "El Jefe" which conceals more humanity than Chula guesses, to her brother, Richie, who alternates between brotherly rivalry and brotherly love.

PRIZEFIGHTER EN MI CASA also stands out for its setting and tone. It authentically captures the cultural flavor of a southern town. The use of Spanish in the dialogue and narration, the slang terms and descriptions of food and religion, all serve to immerse the reader in a world that may seem foreign to many of them.

The book builds on its characters and the many conflicts between them over its two-hundred pages, but toward the end, sadly, it falters. Many of the conflicts are hastily tied up in the last few pages with little explanation; some are left completely uncertain or unresolved. Readers may find that the many loose ends make for an unsatisfying conclusion.

Despite the problems with the ending, this is still a novel well worth reading, both for the glimpse it offers of an under-represented group in teen literature and for the honesty and vividness of its storytelling. Pre-teen and younger teen readers will find much to enjoy and think about.

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow