Lynch, Janet Nichols Addicted to Her

Lynch, Janet Nichols Addicted to Her
Holiday House 2010 220p 17.95
978-0-8234-2186-2 jr/sr Multicultural E-BN
Monique is just beautiful and in Rafa’s eyes she can do no wrong. She is an angel...but she has a side that even if he does not want to recognize it, he finds it disconcerting. Then as much in love as he is, he begins to see things he does not like but still believes he can overcome them or can he? Rafa is good at wrestling if not one of the best on his team. His best friends believe he can achieve a scholarship if he continues his winning style. Then Monique, only the most beautiful girl in the world, looks at him and notices him. For Rafa this is a dream come true. Although Monique has a boyfriend, their relationship is kind of violent and Rafa happens to be there the day they have a very ugly fight. He offer his shoulder for her to cry on and she willing takes his comfort.
Rafa is in seventh heaven with his new girlfriend but this new relationship is taking up all his time. Now he barely makes it to wrestling practice and one day he decides to just skip out completely. Then he forget to pick up his little sister after school. Next he resorts to lying to his mom about his grades, his wrestling practice and his reasons for coming home late. Monique fills every minute of his life. If only her ex-boyfriend would leave her alone.
Life begins to crumble for Rafa, his sister is angry at him, his friends will not give him the time of day and his beloved girlfriend is beginning to demand too much of his time and his little brother is on the road to trouble.
Then Rafa’s family is hit with a tragic event that changes everything for everyone, placing Rafa at the head of his family with responsibilities he has never had to shoulder before. In his mind he has to rethink his priorities in his life and choosing the right path is not the same as choosing his immediate happiness. He realizes that to sacrifice some things, he might be able to rethink his choices and hurt less people even if it means losing the one thing he has wanted for a long time. Diaz, Magna