David Hernandez (1)Recensioni

After I finished reading this angsty book, I drove to Target and bought a huge bag of Red Vines, and then drove to my boyfriend's UTD dorm room, because I have this memory of going to CiCi's Pizza and while Lauren G., Laura and I were chowing down on spinach Alfredo pizza, Stephen was sitting there eating Red Vines. ANYWAY. So, I sat cross-legged on his bed, ripped open the bag, and ate a Red Vine. Frowning, I ate a few more, and then just gave up and handed the bag to Stephen. What the heck? Why would you ever have a crazy Red Vine fettish when Twizzlers are so much better? Why do Red Vines even exist when there are Twizzlers out there? Red Vines are waxy and pure ick while Twizzlers are nothing but strawberry goodness!
That pretty much sums up how I feel about ths book, it that makes any sense at all.

Marcus is happy. His father who hits his (not-so) little brother Enrique has finally left home. Marcus has to help out more and money is tight but he is happier without him. Evenso, Marcus' life is not all good: he keeps wondering if he should have done more to protect his brother -- the same brother who is now dating the girl Marcus likes. Enrique and Marcus decide to confront their violent father and give him a taste of his own medicine with a (fake) gun. But the trip and confrontation play out in ways they never expected.

Excellent YA fodder; strong male Latino voice, great dialogue, good pacing. Adult language (lots of f bombs), sexual situations, drug use.. good for mature readers, esp. boys.

Messed up family.
Blunt language.
Drugs.

Hooked me in at the start but the way events followed each other more realistically than determined by a story shape didn't quite work for me. (There was a story shape, it was just more in the gaps between the events.)

Clear-eyed and almost deadpan, this tale of how tragedy affects a few teenagers is really involving. The only real problem I had with it is that Carlos and Isabel's alternating chapters spoke in a very similar voice, and I had to depend on context or flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was speaking. I think Hernandez captures late adolescence vividly and with a remarkable clarity of vision. Nicely done.

I liked this story but felt it had a lot of loose ends. Major plot points in most of the characters' lives were left incomplete. I suppose you could say that's realistic -- life is full of loose ends -- but it left me frustrated. What ultimately happened to Snake? What happened with Will and his girlfriend? And Vanessa, what happened at her old school that made her leave? You never found out.

Done properly, that kind of ambiguity can be a great literary device, but it's very hard to do and, in my opinion, the author couldn't make it work. Nevertheless this is a good novel with genuine friendships, which I would recommend.

good book i liked it alot

First, the good stuff: [a:David Hernandez|383634|David Hernandez|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] packs a lot of powerful emotion per page in this novel, and his main character, Marcus, is a wonderful mix of reliable enough for me to trust him as a narrator, but imperfect enough to relate to. Also, this is one of those rare YA novels that I think would resonate with teenage boys, especially if they're Hispanic. Hernandez manages to honor the traits of a Hispanic family in the US without digressing into the preachy-ness that is so typical of "multicultural" children's books.Second, the not-so-good stuff: some of the plot felt kind of tacked-on for the sake of moving things forward instead of growing out of the story. The worst part of the book, no quotation marks. Trying to read a dialogue-heavy book without quotation marks=pain in the butt.

I think that sucker punch was a good book because it told a lot about the teenage life. It was also good because it was about him telling about his father that he was out to get. The main reason was because of the way he treated his little brother more than the way the father treated him. The father was more Abusive to his little brother than him, that was the main reason fro the auther to hate him.

The novel, Suckepunch by David Hernandez encompasses child Abuse(theme). In the beginning, Marcus, (the protagonist’ name) struggles with family situation. Throughout the middle he/she perseveres through by keeping his family together. By the end she/he has learned you can forgive the one that hurt you the most. (end with the number of pages you read/number of pages in the book – exa: 217/217).

this is a very real book and it has lots of action and entertainment in it

Cross-posted from: http://yaromancereviews.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-more-us-for-you-by-david-hernand... Review:Overall book rating: 3/5Romance rating: 2/5Percentage of book focused on Romance: 40%Chemistry between characters: 2/5Love Triangle: NoThe bases (hotness factor): 1st baseI really struggled with what to make of this book. I enjoyed reading it because it was well-written and it was set in Southern California (where I lived for a few years a while ago). So, the voices rang true to me -- they felt authentic. Early on in the book, I remember saying to myself "Oh, this going to be good". I felt anticipation about the prospect of these two characters meeting. However, as the book went on, I couldn't shake the feeling of "am I missing something?" I really do think that I missed the boat on what the author was trying to convey. The book is written in the alternating perspectives of Carlos and Isabel. They each have so much going on in their lives. Actually, that is one of my complaints about this book. There are like ten different story lines that began but never got explored related to friends, co-workers, and family members of Carlos and Isabel. I didn't understand the point of bring all that up to never find out what happens to these people and their ongoing issues. In any case, when Carlos and Isabel FINALLY meet, their interactions felt very uninspiring and flat. Not much spark. They were each initially attracted to each other and had a connection regarding Red Vines (thus the picture of the book). By the description of this book, you are led to believe that Vanessa plays a significant role in their relationship (if it's even one). She really doesn't. Something happens to her and there is the aftermath of it. We know very little about Vanessa. You get hints regarding her past without explanation. It was hard to feel like you knew her at all -- and if you don't know her -- it's hard to care about her when that something bad happens to her.Okay, I am going to stop picking at what I found wrong with the book. I will say that it is well-written and worth the read for that alone. Lastly, in regards to the romance, the impression I was left with: this is a story about two people that are at the very cusp of starting something. They are at the pivotal point where you proceed and become involved with each other or make a determination that it is not worth it to pursue and move on to something else. Only in the very end do you get a sense of which direction they are headed.

Nice, quick read. The real, gritty, true stories made it compelling. Nice story, but a bit inconclusive sometimes. Spiffy ending! AHS/JD

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

SUCKERPUNCH is the story of two brothers - narrator Marcus and his younger brother, Enrique.

Marcus, the shy one, has spent most of his life looking out for Enrique. For some reason that Marcus has yet to fully understand, their father physically abused Enrique. Why one boy and not the other? That is a question Marcus would love to have answered. As a result of the abuse and then abandonment, Enrique is medicated for depression and violent tendencies, and Marcus is trying to keep things under control as the "man" of the family.

When the boys learn their father has continued to send money to help their hardworking mother, they are pleasantly surprised. When their mother tells them that their father is planning to return home to live with them, their reaction is anger and fear. Enrique decides he must be stopped, so with the help of a friend and his car, the brothers set out to visit their father. Armed with a starter's pistol, Enrique's green-haired girlfriend, and minus Enrique's medication, the positive outcome of this confrontation is in serious doubt.

SUCKERPUNCH is gritty and hard-hitting. Readers will soon bond with both Marcus and Enrique. The story flows smoothly, although my English teacher side did have trouble dealing with the lack of quotation marks in the dialogue. I did get over it somewhere around the halfway mark, but it could be a distraction for some readers.

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

On his first day at his new job working as a security guard at the Long Beach Contemporary Museum, 17-year-old Carlos finds himself cleaning up a pool of urine left by some random guy that just walks in and goes on the floor.

Surrounded by some of the strangest "art" he's ever seen, Carlos is sure that this will be a much easier gig than bagging groceries, and will be a great way to buy some nice things for his girlfriend, Mira. During the urine incident, he meets Vanessa, a relatively new classmate at his school who works as the museum's receptionist.

Another classmate, Isabel, also meets Vanessa for the first time shortly afterward. The one-year anniversary of the car accident that took Isabel's boyfriend's life is approaching, and Isabel can't keep her mind from wandering off from time to time, where it ends up exploring ideas of death and fate. When she and her best friend, Heidi, befriend Vanessa, Isabel ends up in the middle of a friendship triangle while she tries to sort out her own mind and come to terms with Gabriel's death.

Vanessa can tell that Isabel needs some distraction, and she tells Isabel that a guy at her job, Carlos, would be perfect for her. Carlos, on the other hand, is still reeling from a friend's difficult situation, and the hard blow that Mira has just dealt him.

On the fateful night of the Valentine's dance, Isabel and Vanessa meet up with Carlos and his best friend, Snake. Both Isabel and Carlos look forward to this opportunity to get to know one another and forget their troubles, but then tragedy strikes, throwing everyone's lives into turmoil. Is this relationship over before it has the opportunity to start?

I was surprised at the heavy amount of adult content in this story. The very title is taken from a display at the art museum that reads "No More Coitus for You," and rough language is tossed around easily and almost without purpose. This book also focuses on some mature themes, such as drugs, gangs, drunk driving, and teen pregnancy. This is definitely a book for the more mature teen.

Sparely written novel, almost a short story or novella. Good, realistic story, but also a little light, despite its potentially heavy subject matter of accidental death. The alternating narrative voices are not as distinct as they could be, but they do lead to a very sweet and affirming ending.

Carlos and Isabel take turns writing chapters in this narrative that brings together a group of high school students. They all know each other because they know, Vanessa who just transferred from another school and their relationship with her forever changes their relationship with each other. I liked it. I especially liked the two voices of the guy and girl and their different view points on the situations. I'd recommend it. It kind of shows that we have no control over the things that life brings our way! Grab some red vines before you start reading though!½

This is a sweet and sometimes humorous book that deals with death, grief, life, and love. It wasn't exactly what I was had thought it would be like but there is nothing wrong with that! I loved reading the alternating perspectives of Isabel and Carlos, their private fears and wishes, and their thoughts about each other and their friends. I was expecting to get to know Vanessa a lot more than I actually did and I felt there were some loose endings left with her storyline.

I liked Carlos's perspective the most, everytime he was in the art gallery that he worked at as a security guard my ears perked up. I loved it all, the strange artwork, the crazy man that comes into the gallery to destroy artwork, and the artist that comes in to repair his neon sign piece that has partially burnt out. It was a great atmosphere that the author created. You could definitely tell the author has a background in the arts! This passages really shine for me!

I found this a hopeful book that shows a great snapshot of teen life but felt like it barely scratched the surface of what the author had created for himself to play with.½