The Confessional [Hardcover]

J.L. Powers (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 10, 2007

Mexican guy. White guy. Classmates and enemies from across the border and on each other's turf. Big fight. White guy wins. Next day, he's dead. Everyone's a suspect. Everyone's guilty of something.

Does what you look like or where you come from finally determine where your loyalties lie? Who's Us? Who's Them? Which side is your side? Is it Truth?

Contemporary politics, the consequences of guys-being-guys, and questions about faith and personal responsibility pulse throughout the pages of this provocative, eloquent debut.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Power’s first novel powerfully combines timely story lines regarding illegal immigration, school violence, and racial tension.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred


From the Paperback edition.

About the Author

J. L. Powers, an educator and former newspaper writer, lives in San Bruno, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375838724
• ISBN-13: 978-0375838729
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The daughter of a geologist and a journalist, J.L. Powers spent much of her childhood camping and searching for fossils in the American West. She grew up on the U.S.-Mexico Border and, though she now lives in California, still considers El Paso home.

Powers is the author of two novels, The Confessional (Knopf, 2007) and This Thing Called the Future (Cinco Puntos Press, 2011), and editor of two anthologies, That Mad Game: Growing up in a Warzone, an anthology of essays from around the world (Cinco Puntos Press, 2012) and Labor Pains and Birth Stories: essays on pregnancy, birth, and becoming a parent (Catalyst Book Press, 2009).

Powers is the fiction and non-fiction editor of The Fertile Source. She writes for The Pirate Tree, a blog on social justice and children's literature. A frequent contributor to New Pages, she is currently at work on other projects. She lives with her family in northern California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too August 22, 2007

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all-male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border.

After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day.

Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the Cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it's all over?

This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It's an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don't worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in its glaring realism. I give it five stars.

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read, no matter your age or beliefs October 2, 2007

By Amanda Materne

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

J.L. Powers is an incisive writer with a great eye to the conflicts and challenges that face contemporary teens, especially in their interactions with religion, government and social systems. The 7 teen characters in _The Confessional_ are real, and oftentimes gritty, and Powers never shies away from showing us their complex emotions, and how these emotions can spurn them into actions condemned by contemoporary society. All of the characters, even the "bad" ones, have an undeniable humanity that allows the reader to see the bigger picture, and how the characters are a part of that big picture, for better or for worse.
Powers is an intelligent, thoughtful, and complex writer, and I eagerly await her next novel.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A controversy or dispute is a matter of opinion over which parties actively disagree, argue, or debate. August 14, 2007

By P. Gibson

Format:Hardcover

The book provides a unique approach to education, religion, and race. A book reading was canceled by a private school in El Paso, TX because some Chief Justice (retired) at the school objected to the book. You would think that a retired Chief Justice would support freedom of speech. He thought the book was anti catholic and new many curse words. I found that the characters always turn to their religion when faced with difficult times. He and I must have read different books. Read the book and see who was correct in their analysis.