crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
A lot to think about in this book. Life is precious.
marmoset737's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't love this as much as Marcelo in the Real World, but still a strong book and a great pick for adolescent boys.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
2.0
Thoughts:
-Rosa's mysterious death was very compelling, and wanting to know more about what happened to her kept me listening.
-Since when are orphanages still a thing? Those disbanded after WW2.
-A junior high school boy is thinking about whether he can raise kids with the girlfriend he doesn't even have yet in the apartment he doesn't live in? Starting a family is even on this kid's radar? Implausible.
-The death warrior stuff got way too cheesy.
-Is the hippie dippy Johnny Corazon character secretly Owen Wilson?
-I'm not sure Rosa's boyfriend doesn't belong in jail. He fails at all life decisions.
-I hate when teens in books constantly trip over vocabulary words. It's condescending to teenagers, and not terribly believable. Most teens would figure out the word "remission" after hearing it a few times in context.
-Rosa's mysterious death was very compelling, and wanting to know more about what happened to her kept me listening.
-Since when are orphanages still a thing? Those disbanded after WW2.
-A junior high school boy is thinking about whether he can raise kids with the girlfriend he doesn't even have yet in the apartment he doesn't live in? Starting a family is even on this kid's radar? Implausible.
-The death warrior stuff got way too cheesy.
-Is the hippie dippy Johnny Corazon character secretly Owen Wilson?
-I'm not sure Rosa's boyfriend doesn't belong in jail. He fails at all life decisions.
-I hate when teens in books constantly trip over vocabulary words. It's condescending to teenagers, and not terribly believable. Most teens would figure out the word "remission" after hearing it a few times in context.
poachedeggs's review against another edition
3.0
I loved [b:Marcelo In The Real World|3700085|Marcelo In The Real World|Francisco X. Stork|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1230930906s/3700085.jpg|3743599] by Francis X. Stork and had high expectations for his new YA novel. I think he can capture the awkward male adolescent voice in a really unique way - in 'Marcelo', through the perspective of a young man with Asperger's syndrome, and here, through the perspective of a 17-year-old on the verge of giving up on himself and turning rotten to the core. Both Marcelo and Pancho are Mexican-Americans too, and I just don't remember having read many books about this significant ethnic group in America.
'The Last Summer' has an interesting premise: it is about Pancho (already introduced), whose parents have died, and whose sister has just, he thinks, been killed by someone. He has been turned over to the care of the state, who has placed him in a monastery/ religious haven in Las Cruces, where he has assigned to take care of D.Q., a boy his age. D.Q. has brain cancer.
D.Q. is also writing a manifesto - the manifesto of what he calls 'the Death Warriors'. It is more philosophical than religious, and despite looking rather cheesy at first glance, is pretty profound.
This isn't really a happily-ever-after story, and Pancho's voice remains authentically distant and 'macho' for most of the novel. There are some sudden bursts of violence - interesting because they are quite dispassionately recounted by Pancho.
I wish I could give this novel four stars but I do think there is something a little flat about the whole narrative. I just can't pinpoint if it's the pacing (a bit on the slow side?) or the rather confusing legal struggles and relationship between D.Q. and his very wealthy mother. I still think it is a fantastic book for young adults though, especially boys who find themselves in need of a little spiritual succor.
'The Last Summer' has an interesting premise: it is about Pancho (already introduced), whose parents have died, and whose sister has just, he thinks, been killed by someone. He has been turned over to the care of the state, who has placed him in a monastery/ religious haven in Las Cruces, where he has assigned to take care of D.Q., a boy his age. D.Q. has brain cancer.
D.Q. is also writing a manifesto - the manifesto of what he calls 'the Death Warriors'. It is more philosophical than religious, and despite looking rather cheesy at first glance, is pretty profound.
This isn't really a happily-ever-after story, and Pancho's voice remains authentically distant and 'macho' for most of the novel. There are some sudden bursts of violence - interesting because they are quite dispassionately recounted by Pancho.
I wish I could give this novel four stars but I do think there is something a little flat about the whole narrative. I just can't pinpoint if it's the pacing (a bit on the slow side?) or the rather confusing legal struggles and relationship between D.Q. and his very wealthy mother. I still think it is a fantastic book for young adults though, especially boys who find themselves in need of a little spiritual succor.
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
I give 5 stars to books that really grab me, regardless of obvious or nitpicky flaws sometimes. This is one of those times.
I don't know what it is about Stork's ability to capture the kind of calm, disconnected flow of life as his adolescent boys experience it while creating emotional and memorable characters, but as he did in Marcello in the Real World, he does again with The Last Summer of the Death Warriors.
This time, he has an emotionally battered and bruised young man in New Mexico who has just suffered the death of his last living family member by possibly foul play and is now set adrift both emotionally and physically.
The boy, Pancho, or actually young man as he is almost 18, is brought to an orphanage where another young man instantly hooks on to him. D.Q. has a rare form of brain tumor and is undergoing chemo/radiation, but is also undergoing the kind of attempt to squeeze meaning out of a life that seems to be the default reaction of people to mortal illnesses.
As a breast cancer survivor, the treatment and descriptions of D.Q.s reactions to it rang true. While I have absolutely zero experience of the inner mentality of adolescent boys and their disconnect from their actions to their emotions, the way Stork matter-of-factedly describes actions and dialogue rings true to this state for Pancho. Pancho doesn't know why he grabs a cell phone from a rude guy on the bus and crushes it, in the book he is described as not even feeling anger, but this matter-of-fact prose creates a layered truth around Pancho.
D.Q. is desperate both to see a girl he met at the Hostel in Albuquerque where he has his treatments as well as to fashion a kind of testament to what remains of his life: The Death Warrior Manifesto. He tries to push Pancho into becoming a Death Warrior: someone who tries to choose love and life in every moment of their living.
While the ending is a bit abrupt, and sometimes the love interest, Marisol, comes off as a bit too wise and patient for her years, Pancho and D.Q. are so compelling you don't really care.
It seems I've been reading alot about the loveliness of broken people recently, and this one is totally in that category. If you enjoyed John Green's "Fault in Our Stars" you'll probably like this book, too, although not as intellectual, there is some Thoreau thrown in there by D.Q.
This Book's Snack Rating: Multi-grain tortilla chips for the multi-layered, sturdy crunch of Pancho's characterization dipped in the sweet-spicy mango salso flavor of the meaning of life in the face of death
I don't know what it is about Stork's ability to capture the kind of calm, disconnected flow of life as his adolescent boys experience it while creating emotional and memorable characters, but as he did in Marcello in the Real World, he does again with The Last Summer of the Death Warriors.
This time, he has an emotionally battered and bruised young man in New Mexico who has just suffered the death of his last living family member by possibly foul play and is now set adrift both emotionally and physically.
The boy, Pancho, or actually young man as he is almost 18, is brought to an orphanage where another young man instantly hooks on to him. D.Q. has a rare form of brain tumor and is undergoing chemo/radiation, but is also undergoing the kind of attempt to squeeze meaning out of a life that seems to be the default reaction of people to mortal illnesses.
As a breast cancer survivor, the treatment and descriptions of D.Q.s reactions to it rang true. While I have absolutely zero experience of the inner mentality of adolescent boys and their disconnect from their actions to their emotions, the way Stork matter-of-factedly describes actions and dialogue rings true to this state for Pancho. Pancho doesn't know why he grabs a cell phone from a rude guy on the bus and crushes it, in the book he is described as not even feeling anger, but this matter-of-fact prose creates a layered truth around Pancho.
D.Q. is desperate both to see a girl he met at the Hostel in Albuquerque where he has his treatments as well as to fashion a kind of testament to what remains of his life: The Death Warrior Manifesto. He tries to push Pancho into becoming a Death Warrior: someone who tries to choose love and life in every moment of their living.
While the ending is a bit abrupt, and sometimes the love interest, Marisol, comes off as a bit too wise and patient for her years, Pancho and D.Q. are so compelling you don't really care.
It seems I've been reading alot about the loveliness of broken people recently, and this one is totally in that category. If you enjoyed John Green's "Fault in Our Stars" you'll probably like this book, too, although not as intellectual, there is some Thoreau thrown in there by D.Q.
This Book's Snack Rating: Multi-grain tortilla chips for the multi-layered, sturdy crunch of Pancho's characterization dipped in the sweet-spicy mango salso flavor of the meaning of life in the face of death
julieanncordero's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this story of friendship, family, loss and love. It was a good story that I’m happy I read.
paovilchis25's review against another edition
4.0
This was a re-read for me. The first time I read this book it was in 2013 and I remember I adored it. Upon re-read a couple of years later I can still say that I really like this book. This book follows a story of friendship, identity and how to deal with emotions. It was a great coming of age story.
In this book we follow Pancho, a boy who recently lost his father and sister and is committed to find his sister´s killer, and DQ, a cancer patient. This book made me bigger inside while and after reading it. The characters felt so real to me and I completely empathised with them even though Pancho would get on my nerves with his stubbornness. I adore Pancho´s growth as a character, and although it was very predictable he was going to choose to help DQ over committing a crime I still love his character development and I appreciated being in his mind while this happened.
This book has the power to make you think and question what are you doing to make you life meaningful, to “Live your life to the fullest”. The ending is realistic and hit home for me, and the epilogue had me crying. Overall, I loved this book. I took one star because of minor things like it was predictable and that there was no strong plot, however I would still recommend you reading this adorable coming of age story.
In this book we follow Pancho, a boy who recently lost his father and sister and is committed to find his sister´s killer, and DQ, a cancer patient. This book made me bigger inside while and after reading it. The characters felt so real to me and I completely empathised with them even though Pancho would get on my nerves with his stubbornness. I adore Pancho´s growth as a character, and although it was very predictable he was going to choose to help DQ over committing a crime I still love his character development and I appreciated being in his mind while this happened.
This book has the power to make you think and question what are you doing to make you life meaningful, to “Live your life to the fullest”. The ending is realistic and hit home for me, and the epilogue had me crying. Overall, I loved this book. I took one star because of minor things like it was predictable and that there was no strong plot, however I would still recommend you reading this adorable coming of age story.
lisaluvsliterature's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the books I read to help with selecting next year's Gateway Award nominees. I did really enjoy it. Didn't think I would, again, like many of the titles on the list this year, it is not my normal type of book. But I really liked the story, and got involved with the characters. At first I was irritated with the main character, Pancho, as he just didn't want to connect with anyone. Just pushed everyone away in his search for vengeance for his sister's death. I totally understood though, his need for vengeance. I can feel in the same situation that I would probably think the same way. I liked the D.Q. character, and again, I can see feeling the same way he did about his sickness and how he wanted to deal with it. I did feel it was a bit predictable with how the whole relationship with Marisol turned out. Obviously it wasn't a Nicholas Sparks type of book where she would fall in love with the terminally ill patient. But once it said something about how she would feel about Pancho, I knew at some point she would tell D.Q., and he would be upset, which he was. But I do like how he realized that was wrong, and how he came around to understand it. Overall, I think it would be a good read for kids on all sides. Even the way the vengeance portion turns out was a good, realistic seeming way, with a bit of a lesson in it.