I read this book when I was in high school and it had me spellbound all night. I thought it would make a great TV movie (or with a few improvements, a motion picture). I loved the idea of an ancient prophecy about the destruction of a school and the invisible forces that compel a girl to solve the mystery of who is setting the forces of destruction in motion. (I tried to write my own story around this theme, but after 75 pages, it went nowhere.) I had the chance to read this book again a few years back, but it didn't quite hold me with the same grip it once did. So, if you get the chance, read the book yourself and make your own judgements.

Rojas takes advantage of his extensive anthropological field work among different indigenous peoples of Mexico, to write concise and short stories which acutely portrait these ethnic groups, what their culture is like, and what kind of lives they lead. Each one of the twelve stories is about a specific ethnical group, so the reader gets a sense of the variety and differences among these groups. The stories go from the extraordinary to the everyday aspects of life. Rojas was a good anthrpologist, and that is reflected in the fact that his stories are not told from an "afar" Western point of view, which tends to emphasize the "exotic", but instead try to penetrate into the vision and collective soul of these groups. The general tone is melancholic, fatalist, magical, and full of references to the rites and beliefs of Mexican indians.

Now that the Zapatista uprising has brought up the issue of indigenous peoples, it should be healthy that people interested take a look at the wide variety of cultures and visions of these peoples, a first-hand account by one man who really got to live among them. Many prejudices and commonplaces will be changed after reading this. But, most of all, it is good literature, and that should suffice.

How would you feel if you were promised the opportunity to go somewhere, but then got disappointed? In Gaucho, written by Gloria Gonzalez, a young boy wants to go back to Puerto Rico, but he can't. His brother promised to take him, but then he got married, so Gaucho had to get the money on his own. First he sold his gold watch. Then he started to work for a gangster named Blanco, who paid him to make deliveries to other gangsters. Does Gaucho get caught making the deliveries? Does he get the money to go to Puerto Rico? If you are between the ages of 11 and 13, read Gaucho to find out for yourself. This is a book that will really knock your socks off.

The book Gaucho is about a Pertuo Rican boy that wants to get to his homeland in Pertuo Rico. Gaucho lives in New York with his brother Angel. Gaucho desperately wants to get out of the bad streets of New York. Blacho tells Gaucho that he knows were fast money can be made. Unwittliy, he becomes involed with a dangerous scheme, which ends in a chase throughout Chinatown. Gauchos fear, vulaberlaty and finally his trouble with a fearful secret. Gaucho was a good book that shows how you should think of something before you do it. The book had alot of good description of the character and how they played their role. I would recommend this book to people that want to find out their ethic identity, and how Gaucho did it

The good news: it's a feminist version of the La Llorona story. The Bad news: it's BORING!! In order to make it more woman-friendly, the author took all the suspense and horror out of the story. The result is only slightly interesting. But, hey, at least the illustrations are good . . .