Review by Booklist Review
Pedro and Daniel are brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio who share an everlasting bond. From a young age, they endure the hardships tied to abuse, colorism, homophobia, and generational trauma from not only their mother but also the rest of the world. These experiences shape them throughout their adolescence and into adulthood as they navigate school, relationships, coming out, and the AIDS epidemic. Though as adults their lives take them down different paths, they find that the love that they have for each other is as special as it was years ago. This is a beautiful and raw story of two Mexican American boys trying to survive in a world where they only have each other to rely on. Erebia uses lyrical prose coupled with dichos, or proverbs, to capture the reader from the first page. With alternating viewpoints that tell the heartbreaking and sometimes happy moments throughout Pedro's and Daniel's lives, readers will find themselves unable to put this book down. A powerful coming-of-age story, Erebia's debut is a title that is unforgettable.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this luminous semi-autobiographical debut, told across five parts starting in the late 1960s, Erebia shares interconnected stories that render fictionalized versions of himself and his younger brother. While Mexican American Pedro is technically older than Daniel, the brothers are "very much alike, as if they are twins born fifteen months apart." Though they live with three sisters and an older brother, Pedro and Daniel endure the brunt of their mother's physical and verbal abuse, as she singles both out for their refusal to play sports ("Mom says all her boys must like sports.... There will be no exceptions!"). She disparages Pedro in particular for inheriting his father's darker skin tone. Erebia mixes the brothers' illuminating alternating third-person POVs with perspectives of adults throughout their community to present a layered, thoroughly riveting telling that follows Pedro and Daniel from 1968 toddlerhood to young adulthood in 1992. As the pair chase their respective dreams of being a priest and a doctor, navigate suicidal ideation, and combat discrimination based on colorism, neurodivergence, race, sexuality, and terminal illness, Erebia deftly weaves together the boys' everyday joys with the seriousness of their situations, presenting a clear portrait of two brothers' fierce love that is by turns uplifting and heart-wrenching. Emotive illustrations by Kwon (Peter Lee's Notes from the Field) appear throughout. Ages 12--up. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--Erebia's debut novel is "fiction based on [his] memorable relationship with Daniel, [his] brother," his introduction reveals, which also warns of the "many forms of abuse depicted in these stories." Daniel died at 30 in 1993: "To remember is to live again." Veteran Spanish-fluent narrators Corzo and Pabon cipher the five parts. Corzo is the aching voice of Part One, when the brothers are tiny children surviving the senseless onslaughts of their brutal mother. Erebia explains his third-person narration here--emulating the distanced perspectives of those who knew yet never intervened. Pabon commands the book's majority, in which Erebia adopts first-person, reflecting the brothers' asserting their voices. Pabon, alas, is surprisingly disappointing in distinguishing the pair, except in the final chapters when adult Daniel sounds more caricatured than convincing. VERDICT For the more resonating experience, choose the page; it's a visual homage to Erebia's hybrid verse/prose/dichos (proverbs) exposition, enhanced with Julie Kwon's empathic art.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A poignant look at brotherhood. This fictionalized version of real events explores the author's relationship with his brother, Daniel, who died at age 30 in 1993. Written in a lyrical style that mixes prose with occasional poetry and poignant illustrations, the stories are presented mostly from the two brothers' points of view, with the added perspectives of adults in the community. This creative format also includes many dichos, or proverbs, some of which are Mexican in origin; an appendix lists them in both Spanish and English. In this truly immersive, often melancholic narrative, readers are introduced to the boys' physically and emotionally abusive mother, who directs homophobic slurs at them. Despite their struggles, their sibling bond shines through: In one story, the kindergarten teacher asks the children to share "their one true treasure," and Pedro brings Daniel to class. Years later, they look at the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt on display in Washington, D.C., and contemplate their differing beliefs about God and religion. Throughout, they're constantly forging and completing each other's developing selves. Both boys are gay and struggle with issues of mental health and neurodivergence. Something else that pulls them together is their deep love for Mexico, where they went every summer as children to visit family. Through the AIDS pandemic, they learn to rely on each other when Daniel tests positive for HIV. Pedro and Daniel's journey, whether together or apart, is an unforgettable one of resilience and, most of all, love. Stunning. (resources, author's note) (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
