Bad Blood. (Urban Underground)

Schraff, Anne.  Bad Blood.  (Urban Underground)  Saddleback  2014  187p $9.95  ISBN 978-1-62250-766-5  jr/sr  Realistic fiction  E-BN

Carlotta has been sent to her aunt’s house for the rest of her senior year as punishment.  She feels that it is unfair, and the accusation of her misbehavior at school is highly exaggerated.      When Carlotta arrives at her cousin’s house she refuses to get out of the car.  She begs her parents to give her another chance.  She promises to behave and do all they ask of her.  But her parents are simply fed up and at the end of their rope.  They have tried everything. The only alternative left is sending her to her aunt’s house to cool off and finish her last year of high school.

However, her cousin Naomi and her parents find this offensive and intrusive, but Naomi is willing to give it a try for her aunt.  Her father is grumbling, but he is also willing to give it a try.  They find that Carlotta to be rude, bratty, and without manners.  She has been allowed to do as she pleases and wears clothing one size too small.

The stage has been set, and this means Carlotta will be in rare form.  In her first class she shows everyone what she is capable of and embarrasses her cousin and her friends, but mostly she embarrasses herself.  Her biggest problem is that she shows little respect to anyone, but especially herself, as she goes after other girls’ boyfriends.  The her eyes fall on her cousin’s boyfriend.

Summary: Carlotta has been sent to her aunt’s house for the rest of her senior year as punishment.  She feels that it is unfair, and she immediately begins acting out, pursuing other girls’ boyfriends and embarrassing herself and others with her rude behavior.   

Latino teens-Fiction                                  --Magna Diaz

Misjudged. (Urban Underground)

Schraff, Anne.  Misjudged. (Urban Underground)  Saddleback  2014  181p  $9.95  ISBN 978-1-62250-764-1  hs  Realistic fiction  VG-BN

Freshman high-school student Mona Lisa Corselli has self-image and confidence problems because she does not have a boyfriend, and she thinks that people are laughing at her because of her appearance.  But then she starts seeing track star Julio Chavez, who lives in a trailer with his father, after having been homeless for years. Mona’s mother doesn’t want her to date Julio because of his social standing, and of course Mother is “always right.”

In another Urban Underground morality tale, the author uses the barrio as the setting and several of its resident teens as the characters.  The book is well written for its intended readership, high/low readers.  The story about a high-school freshman girl who thinks that her self-worth is tied up with her dating status is written like the other Schraff titles, in a somewhat trite and stilted style.  But the topics of female self-worth and the importance of not judging people by their residence and/or social status make this book more valuable to a high-school library collection than some of the others in the set.  The book also continues to follow the lives and relationships of Ernesto, Claudia, Abel, and Clay.     

Summary: Freshman Mona Lisa Corselli has self-image and confidence problems because she does not have a boyfriend, and she thinks that people are laughing at her.  Then she starts seeing track star Julio, who lives in a trailer with his father. Mona’s mother doesn’t want her to date Julio because of his social standing, and of course Mother is “always right.”

           

Barrio-Fiction                                        --Lynn Fisher    

Schraff, Anne. To Die For.

Schraff, Anne.  To Die For. (Urban Underground)  Saddleback  2014  181p $9.95  ISBN 978-1-62250-765-8  hs  New Adult  VG-BN     

In another Urban Underground morality tale, the setting is the barrio and the characters are several of its resident teens.  The book is well written for its intended readership, high/low readers.  This story about high-school bullies and the homeless is written similarly to the other Schraff titles, in a somewhat trite and stilted style.  But the topics discussed make it an important book to include in high-school library collections, unlike some of the other titles in the set.  The novel also continues to follow the lives and relationships of Ernesto, Claudia, Abel, and Clay.            

Summary: When a homeless man is killed, a bunch of Chavez High School bullies try to stay away from the light of justice.  When one of them seems to be flush with money all of a sudden, Ernesto and his friends start to take notice.     

Murder-Fiction, Homeless-Fiction                      --Lynn Fisher    

Schraff, Anne. Unbroken. (Urban Underground)

Schraff, Anne.     Unbroken.  (Urban Underground)             Saddleback          201p      $15.00  978-1-61651-960-5   2012             hs             VG-BN      Realistic fiction                                 

David Morales has managed to survive two years of prison, and now he is ready to leave and become a responsible citizen.  He has the support of his brother, who helps him find a job and, as it turns out, he falls in love with the boss’ daughter.  She doesn’t know about his criminal past, and a lot of the story revolves around her potential reaction if and when he decides to tell her.

Morality tales are not the stuff that usually would be of interest to YA readers, but this book is perhaps an exception to that rule.  The story of David Morales leaving prison after serving two years, and his strong desire to be a responsible citizen, makes for an interesting story.  But the book is not solely about David.  His brother and his new girlfriend, and their families, all illustrate the ways in which immigrant families close to the bottom of the socio-economic strata, are solid, loving, and supportive of each other.  The author portrays the bario as a place with good and bad, just like any community, and the importance of neighbor helping neighbor.  The emphasis, in this story about David and his girlfriend Carmen, is trust, and the importance of being truthful with the ones you love.            

Prison-Fiction, Brothers-Fiction                                                                                                                                                       --Lynn Fisher

 

Schraff, Anne. Winners and Losers.

Schraff, Anne.    Winners and Losers. (Urban Underground.)  Saddleback  200p $9.95  978-1-61651-962-9   hs  VG-BNS      Realistic fiction

Ernesto Sandoval seems to have his life in order.  He has the respect of his fellow students, a great girlfriend, and a loving family.  But Rod Garcia cannot accept Ernesto’s election as senior-class president.  He perceives Ernesto as a goody-two-shoes outsider and makes it his goal to make Ernesto’s life miserable.  Rod spends a lot of his time plotting mischief to make Ernesto look bad.

Ernesto perceives Rod as a disgruntled troublemaker.  He deals with Rod firmly but respectfully, but doesn’t waste time worrying about Rod’s personal issues.  Ernesto has his eye on the goal: college, supporting his circle of friends and family, and spending time with his girlfriend.  Ernesto’s deliberate choice to refuse to be baited by Rod pays off in respect from students and adults alike.  Ernesto is proof of the adage “Success is the best revenge”.

Schraff offers credible characters and a recognizable barrio setting.  Struggling readers will connect with the credible characters and the compelling story lines of the Urban Underground series.  The highly readable style and mature topics will appeal to young-adult readers.           

Friendship-Fiction, High school-Fiction                     -- Hilary Welliver

Schraff, Anne. Vengeance. (Urban Underground.)

Schraff, Anne.    Vengeance. (Urban Underground.)     Saddleback  200p  $8.95 978-1-61651-961-2 ms/hs       VG    Realistic fiction    

As president of the senior class, Ernesto must handle a lot.  In this book, he sets up a mentoring program that supports struggling ninth graders, encourages his peers to treat a teacher with respect, and offers support to his friend Abel when his father is almost killed in a hit-and-run accident.  Anne Schraff uses two stories to illustrate her moral, which is that vengeance should never be an option in the pursuit of justice. 

Using her usual setting, Chavez High, and her cast of characters, including Ernesto Sandoval, his girlfriend Naomi, and various other regulars of her Urban Underground series, Schraff accomplishes her purpose with one story about bullying and another about leaving the scene of a crime.  In the first story, the granddaughter of beloved history teacher Mr. Davila is bullied while she is walking her disabled grandmother through the streets after school.  Two mean girls mimic the characteristics of Parkinson’s disease, and Angel is devastated and furious too!  To get even, she frames one of the bullies for a crime that she herself has committed, that of spray-painting obscenities all over the walls of the high school library.  In a parallel, yet unrelated, segment of the story, the son of a different social-studies teacher is guilty of leaving the scene of a crime, which seriously injures the father of one of Ernesto’s best friends.  Seeking revenge becomes an issue again, and Schraff assures her readers that revenge is unacceptable.  Although the writing is not world-class, Schraff nevertheless gets teenagers reading.  Her books resonate with a variety of readers, especially with Latinos, since all of the characters live in the barrio.  This book is easy-to-read, fast-paced and contemporary.

  
On page 94, note the punctuation error in the sentence “Dad admires him.”  The sentence needs to end with a period instead of a comma. The Urban Underground series comprises around thirty books, all related to teaching morals and values to inner-city youth as well as other teenagers.  With a setting in a Latino high school, a repeat cast of characters, and easy-to-comprehend content, Schraff engages students and educates them as well! High-school students and middle-school students will like this new volume, and bilingual classrooms should stock it as well!

Revenge–Fiction, High school–Fiction                        -- Martha Squaresky