Buried Onions
by Gary Soto
Published by Harcourt
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
Eddie's home in Fresno, California, is not exactly a happy place for him. At nineteen, he's dropped out of college, he has lost more friends than he can count to the violence that is abundant in his hometown, and his aunt is after him to avenge his cousin's death.
Eddie, unlike most of the kids he grew up with, is trying to earn an honest living, and maybe even get out of Fresno someday, and away from all of the violence that has been his life so far. But that's harder than it sounds, when you've got no money and very little education. No matter how hard Eddie struggles to change his life, people around him are always pulling him down--and there are few exceptions to that rule.
Buried Onions is a fairly quick read, but there's a lot to it, and it stays with you long after the last page.
Eddie in particular is one of a cast of three-dimensional, interesting characters whose lives are probably very different from that of most who read this powerful novel. The characters bring this sorrowful, hopeful story alive, as does Gary Soto's obvious talent for choosing just the right words to keep the reader interested in what he has to say and to get his point across eloquently.
Armchair Interviews says: Buried Onions is an honest, thought-provoking novel that should be a required reading for everyone.
Author's Web site: http://www.GarySoto.com