Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena---Pt. 1

Pg. 1-82

This book has really surprised me. I thought it was going to be really hard to understand and difficult to push through. On the contrary, it has been very interesting, extremely easy to understand and surprisingly well developed. There are three things that I want to mention in particular: character developement, character similarities, and Danny's letters.

Throughout the book you are introduced to numerous characters: Danny, Uno, Sofia, Raul and Lolo are just a few of them. Within this section of the book you are only given a quick view of each of the characters, but it's just enough to make predictions on how they will react when presented with a new situation.
Danny, our main character, is half-white half-mexican. He is what you might consider to be a "goody-two-shoes". He's smart. He makes the good grades. Since this is a Young Adult Novel, it's a pretty good bet that he will be questioning who he is and possibly making stupid decisions. The combination of his mixed heritage and his identity questioning means that you'll be learning about him as he learns about himself.
Sofia is Danny's mexican cousin. She wants to see her cousin flourish while he visits her, but she doesn't hestitate to stick up for him when things go sour. It's clear that she is a fun loving character. It's almost impossible to hate her. She will probably end up being the solid rock that Danny turns to during the low times.

Race plays an important role in this book. Some main characters (Danny, Uno and Liberty) are all of mixed race. Danny and Uno are parallel characters. They have similar stories. Their dad's are both out of the picture. They live with their mom's. They each have a younger sibling. However, they are also very different. Danny wants to be invisible while Uno wants to be the center of attention. Uno still has contact with his father, but Danny doesn't. It's easy to see that the more I read, the more I will see how they are, and are not, alike.

Danny's letters are very, very odd. He writes to his father, though he can't ever send them. In his letters he tells his father things that aren't true. Such as, in one letter, Danny tells his father that he is dating Liberty. When he makes that claim, he hasn't even talked to her yet. It seems to me that he is writing about what he wants to happen. Like he wants to be able to talk to his dad. He wants to date her. He wants to be liked. He wants to be the tough guy. No matter what the letters say, it's clear that they will help explain what goes on in his head.