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Efrain's Secret

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Ambitious high school senior Efrain Rodriguez dreams of escaping the South Bronx for an Ivy League college like Harvard or Yale. But how is his family going to afford to pay for a prestigious university when Moms has to work insane hours to put food on the table as it is? And Efrain wouldn’t dare ask that good-for-nothing father of his who has traded his family in for younger models. Left with few options, Efrain chooses to do something he never thought he would. He embarks on a double life—honor student by day, drug peddler at night—convinced that by temporarily capitulating to society’s negative expectations of a boy like him, he can eventually defy them.
Sofia Quintero makes a stunning debut writing for young adults with this gritty, complex, and real exploration of the life of an urban teen whose attempt to leave one world behind for a better one could cost him everything.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 15, 2010
      Adult author Quintero (Divas Don't Yield
      ) delivers an in-your-face YA debut, a passionate polemic on racial politics in urban America. Couched in an explosive morality tale, the story is narrated by a driven high school senior in the South Bronx with the odds stacked against him (“...although I'm very smart, I'm too brown and too poor. In other words, I could never be smart enough”). To raise money for an Ivy League education, Efrain resorts to selling drugs (“I'm tired of being the good boy who never has anything to show for it.... Doing the right thing is supposed to be its own reward, but that's not enough to pay my tuition”). His efforts to justify his choice, understand his actions, and come to terms with myriad unforeseen consequences—especially after he gets caught—are felt on every page. Relevant SAT vocabulary words (like “pittance” and “apprehend”) begin each chapter, and seamlessly interwoven subplots, including Efrain's complex connection to his philandering father and his evolving relationship with Candace, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, make the story that much more emotionally resonant. Ages 12–up.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from March 1, 2010
      Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* To 17-year-old Latino valedictorian-to-be Efrain, the number 1650 is like a death sentence. With an SAT score like that, theres no way he is going to get into Harvard and escape the poverty that has so exhausted his single mother, estranged Dominican father, and South Bronx community at large. With a $32,000 tuition staring him in the face, Efrain turns to his old pal Nestor, a dropout drug peddler who hooks him up with a similar gig. Even the arrival of a new girl in school, a gutsy Katrina survivor named Candace, cant knock Efrain from his resolve to earn some serious cash. Theres nothing new here in terms of plotyou can see the hard life lessons and tragedy coming from way up the blockbut Quintero imbues her characters with unexpected grace and charm. Nestor, for example, is perceptive and funny, and the drug-dealing scenes are filled with realistic small talk and buffoonery rather the pulse-pounding terror seen in movies. Mostly, though, it is Quinteros effortless grasp of teen slang that gives her first-person story its heart. Dont front now like you werent stressing me, Efrain tells Nestor, and hiding behind the code is an entire lifetime of conflicted emotions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

    • The Horn Book

      July 1, 2010
      High school senior and valedictorian-to-be Efrain Rodriguez is caught between his dream of attending an Ivy League college and the reality of his South Bronx poverty. He turns to dealing drugs to fund his education; his eventual arrest and redemption come as no surprise. Gritty and emotionally affecting if somewhat contrived, the story confronts how societal expectations can influence behavior.

      (Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.9
  • Lexile® Measure:780
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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