Petty Crimes

By Gary Soto

Book Overview

Meet Manuel, a young man who wears hand-me-downs from his older brothers until he finally gets a brand-new pair of shoes. And Jose Luis, who watches the vet bills rise after he buys a sick rooster to save it from becoming someone's dinner. And Alma, a young woman who runs to every shop and flea market in town buying back the clothes of her dead mother that her father has given away. These Mexican American youths meet life's challenges head-on in this hard-hitting collection of short stories.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152054375
• ISBN13: 9780152054373
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

Really Touching

This book is a collection of short stories about Mexican-American teens in California, but the themes and the things they do could apply to anyone. Reading this book, you watch their transition into adulthood, the loss of innocence and the pain that comes with it. The stories are all very different. There is the story of a girl who tries to buy back all the clothes of her mother's her father gave away when her mother died. There is the story of a hardworking, honest boy, and his cousin, who flees when the going gets rough, but comes back for the glory. But all the stories weave a complicated picture that will leave you sighing wistfully at the end.