Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood - Softcover

Saenz, Benjamin Alire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933693991 ISBN 13: 9781933693996

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press, 2011

Synopsis

It is 1969, America is at war, "Hollywood" is a dirt-poor Chicano barrio in small-town America, and Sammy and Juliana face a world of racism, war in Vietnam, and barrio violence. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood is a Young Adult Library Services Association Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adults.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz—novelist, poet, and writer of children's books—was named one of the "Fifty Most Inspiring Authors in the World" by Poets & Writers magazine. He was also a finalist for PEN/USA's literary award for children's and young adult literature. Sáenz lives in El Paso, Texas.

About this title

About the Author:

BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ was born in his grandmother's house in Picacho, New Mexico--on the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico where Juliana in Hollywood is set. He was the fourth of seven children and was brought up in a traditional Mexican-American Catholic family. His family spoke mostly Spanish at home, and it was only through his education in the public schools that he learned to speak and write in English. He entered the seminary in 1972, a decision that was as much political as it was religious: he was heavily influenced by such Catholic thinkers as Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, César Chavez and the Berrigan brothers. After concluding his theological studies at the University of Louvain, he was ordained a Catholic priest. Three and a half years later, he left the priesthood. At the age of 30, he entered the Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas at El Paso. He later received a fellowship at the University of Iowa, and in 1988, he received a Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship in poetry from Stanford University. In 1993 he returned to the border to teach in the Bilingual MFA program at the University of Texas at El Paso. His most recent book of poetry, Elegies in Blue, was published by Cinco Puntos Press in 2002. This is his first book for young adults.

From AudioFile:

In Hollywood, New Mexico, 16-year-old Sammy Santos falls in love with Juliana, a girl with dark secrets and fire in her eyes. The novel is far more than a coming-of-age story as Sammy deals with first love, poverty, the War in Vietnam, drug overdoses, murder, and racism. Robert Ramirez's performance captures Sammy's introspection, honesty, and moments of poetic lyricism, creating a living, breathing teenager on the edge of awareness. Ramirez is just as at home handling street language and poetry. Liberal sprinklings of Spanish are read so skillfully that the non-Spanish-speaking listener understands the gist of what's being said. Gritty as the unforgiving New Mexican desert, Sammy's story makes compelling listening for older teens. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1933693991
• ISBN 13: 9781933693996
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240