"Mexican Whiteboy" by Matt de la Peña- Book Review

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña. Ember. 2008

Mexican Whiteboy follows the summer of sixteen-year-old Danny Lopez. Born to a Mexican father and White mother, Danny has always struggled with his identity. He is constantly being told he is too dark skinned to be White but too well dressed, soft spoken, and mono-linguistic to be Mexican. Danny is given the option to follow his mother, her boyfriend, and his sister to San Francisco or live with his father’s family in National City, a suburb just outside of San Diego. Danny decides to take the leap and live in National City in hopes of getting to know more about his absentee father. 

Once Danny arrives in National City, he joins his cousin Sofia and her neighborhood friends in a game of baseball. The neighborhood boys are shocked when Sofia’s soft-spoken cousin hits the ball farther then they thought possible. One of the boys, Uno, is less than impresses when Danny’s bat flies straight into the face of his bother. Danny thinks he has secured his fate and is bound to be at odds with Uno, who retaliates by taking a swing at Danny’s face. Uno discovers Danny is not only a great batter, but a fantastic pitcher, even if he’s drunk. Little does he know that Danny dreams of making it to the big leagues playing professionally maybe even finding his father and sharing his life with him. As it turns out Uno has a dream of his own, to join his father, Senior, in his shiny new life in Oxnard. However, in order for Uno make this come true he needs to collect $500. Uno concocts a scheme to quickly earn the cash, but it requires Danny’s incredible pitching talents. As they work to hustle their way to their respective dreams, a surprising friendship develops between the two. 

I can easily see a large variety of students connecting to the lives of the characters found in Mexican Whiteboy. There is so much to Danny, Uno, and even Sofia’s stories. Of course, this novel would be a great way to showcase the Mexican American experience, and the internal and external struggle that comes with being mixed-race. The author, Matt de la Peña, is also mixed raced often Danny's inner monologue conveys the thoughts Peña has about his own identity. A student who is also mixed could find their thoughts echoed with in Peña's writing and find they are not the only ones having these feelings of inadequacy. Lastly, Mexican Whiteboy also sheds light on sensitive themes such as self-harm, racism, and divorce. All while intertwining lighthearted experiences like first love jitters. Because there is so much to dive into, I would introduce Peña’s novel in literature circles to better unravel each main character’s feelings and actions. Overall, Mexican Whiteboy is a fantastic novel with important and relevant themes that all middle grade students can learn from. 

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