Book: Tafolla Toro by Lorenzo Gomez, III
I chose to read this novel because it is set in San Antonio, TX, and it chronicles the life of Lorenzo, a 12 year old attending Tafolla Middle School. To give you some perspective, Tafolla MS is less than a five minute drive from Bazan Library Branch. This is a school that I frequent throughout the year for outreach. The book quickly captured my attention after reading the introduction. It describes fear while walking home, describing streets and interstate highways that quickly set the stage in west side San Antonio. The author lets the reader know that we will be reading his story as a middle schooler, while ending each chapter with the present day author writing to his younger self. The story presents fear, anxiety, and nervousness entering new territory, middle school. Young Lencho enters a world that is unfamiliar and quickly learns to adapt new rituals to stay clear of trouble. Gang fights, hazing, violence, and uncomfortableness bo...