Tommy Stands Alone (Roosevelt High School) [Paperback]

Gloria Velasquez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 1995 | Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Roosevelt High School

The third novel in the series focuses on the difficult issue of a young man's struggle with his sexual orientation--a conflict made more difficult by his family's traditional Hispanic expectations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9?Tommy, a Chicano teen, is uncomfortable with the attention girls shower on him and wants to avoid his friends. When Rudy and Tyrone find a note written to him from David the joto (queer), Tommy can't take it anymore. He buys a bottle of vodka, steals some pills from his family's medicine cabinet, and attempts to kill himself. Maya, his best friend, calls on Ms. Martinez, a counselor, to guide him through this crisis. Although Tommy needs assistance, he is reluctant to come to terms with the fact that he is gay. Maya finally confronts him and forces him to deal with the situation. Once he does, the knowledge that there is hope comes very slowly at first, for he needs to open up to his family and, more importantly, to himself. Velasquez writes with clarity about the pain and suffering that the characters experience. But the message of getting help is overly stressed throughout?readers will feel deluged with advice. And while the advice is sound, the story is just too heavy-handed for YAs to take seriously.?Jana R. Fine, Clearwater Public Library System, FL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-10. Mexican-American Tomas lives with his parents and two younger sisters. He likes art class, has a close girlfriend named Maya, hangs out with the guys, and is gay. Humiliated by his friends who find a note in his pocket from another gay boy, Tomas discovers that alcohol numbs his pain, and he attempts suicide. Velasquez imparts the experiences of many gay teens in Tomas' story, which includes rejection from family and friends and the intervention of a caring Chicana therapist. This is the only YA novel available about a gay Latino. Its resolution is a bit too tidy and optimistic, but Velasquez has written an otherwise engaging story that will help teens, gay and straight, to better understand the consequences of homophobia. Merri Monks --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Arte Publico Pr (August 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155885147X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558851474
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > Hispanic

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An earnest book that falls short of its goals., February 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tommy Stands Alone (Roosevelt High School) (Paperback)

It is a shame that this earnest, painstaking book is so woodenly written. Clearly the writer felt strongly about her topic, and was anxious to write a reassuring book for adolescents (particularly Latino adolescents). Unfortunately, the result reads like a high-school composition assignment, littered with stock platitudes and "Advice for teens and parents on coping with homosexuality" school-pamphlet paragraphs. For adolescent readers wondering about their sexuality and the reactions of family and friends, such paragraphs might relate just what they need to know. For those merely seeking characters with which to identify, however, the heavy-handed explations and reassurances will bore them.

The fast-moving plot contains well-drawn, sympathetic characters, albeit with too much emphasis on Tommy's counselor; I think her story would have worked better as part of Tommy's counseling sessions. Regarding Tommy himself, two major character elements seem to be missing: how he identified his sexuality in the first place, and any physical attraction to men (Tommy's homosexuality seems very antiseptic and conjectural). Due to these omissions, the reader is left a little frustrated in wanting to know this interesting character better.

Overall-- perceptive treatment of Latino culture aside--far better novels dealing with adolescent homosexuality are available. A sterling example is Michael Cart's "My Father's Scar;" a wonderful and poignant book that doesn't suborn the issue of mutual attraction in favor of chaste philosophic debate.