Moving on, this meme is hosted by Breaking the Spine
You Don't Have a Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens, edited by Sarah Cortez
Release Date: April 28, 2011 When two gun-toting hoodlums tell the fourteen-year-old narrator of Rene Saldana's story, "The Right Size," to kiss the floor, he doesn't think twice. And his dad and younger brother drop to the floor just as quickly. "This guy Jimmy probably thinks Dad is the greatest threat among the three of us, but he s dead wrong. Dad couldn't hurt a bug," the boy thinks. In the ensuing twenty minutes, he learns that his dad isn't as weak as he thought, and in fact, his dad is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family, even if it means killing someone.
The teens featured in these stories deal with situations typical to all young adults, including attraction to the opposite sex or to the same sex, in one story and first sexual encounters, problems with family and friends, academic and personal aspirations.
But they also deal with every kind of thrilling situation imaginable, from missing girls to kidnappings and dismembered bodies. A young girl finds herself living with her "family," though she has no memory of them or who they claim she is. A geek at a prestigious public high school finds himself working with his very attractive arch-rival to solve the mystery of a severed, bloody arm that appears inexplicably in his locker. And Mike s life sucks when his parents split up, but it gets worse when his best friend is abducted by a thug shot by Mike's dad, a police officer. There's something for everyone here, with aliens, ghosts and even an Aztec god making appearances in these stories. Set in schools and communities from New York City to Venice Beach, California, the protagonists reflect the breadth and diversity of the Latino authors included in this innovative collection.
Published authors such as Mario Acevedo, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Diana Lopez and Sergio Troncoso appear alongside less well-known authors who deserve more recognition. With an introduction by young adult literature expert Dr. James Blasingame of Arizona State University, this collection is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats until the last page is turned.
How cool does this collection of stories sound? I've only heard of one of the authors mentioned in the summary but I'm really excited to discover (hopefully) some interesting new-to-me authors. I've never read a lot of mystery books, Nancy Drew was about it (although I loved spy stories so I read a lot of those) along with the Lupe Solano Detective series (which I'm way behind on, but my library doesn't have the next one). I do wish the cover wasn't so generic, I had hoped for something reflected an universal aspect of Latino culture. Ah well.
What are you waiting on this week? Do you like mysteries? Know of any authors of color who write mysteries (besides Walter Mosley!)?
