Petty Crimes Paperback – May 1, 2006

Loved it !

This book is a collection of short stories about Mexican-American teens in California, but the themes and the things they do could apply to anyone. Reading this book, you watch their transition into adulthood, the loss of innocence and the pain that comes with it. The stories are all very different. There is the story of a girl who tries to buy back all the clothes of her mother's her father gave away when her mother died. There is the story of a hardworking, honest boy, and his cousin, who flees when the going gets rough, but comes back for the glory. But all the stories weave a complicated picture that will leave you sighing wistfully at the end.

Gary Soto always delivers stories with sympathetic characters and believable situations that are both hilarious and heartbreaking. This compilation of stories is no exception. Highly recommended.