Dark Dude

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Oscar Hijuelos comes a riveting young adult novel set in the late 1960s about a haunting choice and an unforgettable journey of identity, misidentity, and all that we take with us when we run away.He didn&’t say good-bye. He didn&’t leave a phone number. And he didn&’t plan on coming back—ever. Fifteen-year-old Rico Fuentes has had enough of life in Harlem, where his fair complexion—inherited from an Irish grandfather—keeps him caught between two cultures without belonging to either. He pours his outsider feelings into a comic book Dark Dude, with his friend Jimmy illustrating. But when Gilberto, who&’s always looked out for Rico, moves to Wisconsin and Jimmy loses himself to an insidious habit, Rico decides enough is enough. With Jimmy in tow, Rico runs away to the Midwest in search of Gilberto. The heavily white community feels worlds away from Harlem, and for the first time, Rico sees what it&’s like to blend in—no longer the &“dark dude&” or the punching bag for the whole neighborhood. But the less energy Rico needs to put into proving he&’s Latino, the less he feels like one. And the more he gets to know the people around him, the more it&’s clear that a change in location doesn&’t change human nature—and that there&’s no such thing as a perfect community. Faced with the truth that there are things that can&’t be cut loose or forgotten, things that keep him from ever having an ordinary white kid&’s life, Rico must decide whether he can make a home in the place he ran to…or the one he ran from.
Copyright:
2008

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
448 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781416994756
Related ISBNs:
9781416949459, 9781416949459
Publisher:
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Oscar Hijuelos
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Teens, Literature and Fiction
Grade Levels:
Ninth grade, Tenth grade, Eleventh grade, Twelfth grade
Reading Age:
14 and up
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

No Rating Yet