Review: We Were Here

We Were Here by Matt de la Pena
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was surprised by how good this story was. The cover of the battered copy I found by chance at our had me thinking it'd be a teen angst type of story. I try to grab a variety of books these days.

I opened the book at random, preparing to put it back, but I found myself caught by scene in which a romantic fairytale is recounted by an amazingly beautiful Chinese girl with green hair, and who is the driver of a car with runaways .... from somewhere. The story is about the unfinished dreams of a Chinese singer and it clearly bothered one of the passengers. I couldn't stop. I wanted to find out what happened. This was in the middle of the book.

The story is revealed in journal chapters by date. Over the course of the book we learn about Miguel, his anger, his frustrations, and his brief life in a group home for boys. After a violent first meeting, he teams up with a psychopathic Chinese young man to run away from the group home. A mysterious giant of a black youth joins them. The story continues to develop interest as these three marauders set off for Mexico, to start their lives anew. Their lives, it turns out, renews on the road.

I had figured out Miguel's secret hurt midway through the book but I won't spoil it for you. His secret isn't actually the culmination of the story; his redemption is.

There is tough, foul language but the cadence is familiar and genuine. It's not foul language for the sake of art, or for the sake of excitement, or worse, marketing. The gritty talk is really a part of the characters and you can hear how the lingo and words fall easily across the page. De la pena writes with an authenticity that is appreciated.

I am happy to have discovered an author whose next book I am excited to read.

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