Final Project Book Choice

A few days ago, I browsed through the recommended reading list for our final project. Interestingly, I had never really heard of any of the books, so everything was new to me. I read a lot of the reviews for the books on Amazon and eventually decided to go with the book Jesse by Gary Soto. I chose this book in part for the description of its content, but in larger part due to its author. Through looking at the various books on the list, as well as others, Soto's name kept coming up in relation to Hispanic Literature for young adults. His books seemed to sell well and be well received. Many of the books he writes are collections of short stories.

From what I understand, Jesse is about a boy around the age of 17 (yes, his name is Jesse) and his life growing up as a Mexican American. He lives with his brother in a run down apartment. For money, the boys do farm work and sell what they can. The book is set in the 1960's amongst the drama of the Vietnam War and political issues with Cesar Chavez.

I chose this book because it received positive reviews, and also because it seemed to have an important and interesting story to tell.... Hopefully it was a good choice! I am expecting it in the mail today!