Book Review: Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility

Reviewed By: Kat - RAM - Wisconsin

Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Patricia Santana
Class/Genre:   Fiction   Military   Ethnic   Vietnam or Vietnam Vet
University of Mexico Press, c2002, 267 pages

Yoli is 14, the 7th of 9 children of Mexican immigrants and growing up in (very) southern California in 1969. The whole neighborhood has come out to welcome her big brother Chuy home safe from Vietnam. However, some war wounds don't show up on the outside, and the beguiling Chuy they all knew is gone, replaced by a troubled, angry stranger. As their mother sees him surrounded by his friends at his party "Her pobre hijo looked lost and distant, as if he had misplaced his soul, and now stood eternally confused." Yoli thinks he'll be fine; he just needs some rest.

Of all her siblings, Yoli has the strongest connection to Chuy, but she doesn't fully understand what drives him now. Even when he rides off on his new Harley and disappears for months, she is never angry with him her hero-worship knows no bounds, and when he returns, she's sure he will be fine. But he slips farther and farther away, until he finally breaks.

Don't think that this is "just a kid's book" because it isn't, and Oprah is going to really miss out by blowing it off as YA. This might be considered a coming-of-age novel, but it is more than that. It gives the reader a window into another time and another lifestyle; a long year lived vigorously and emotionally by a young lady with a big heart.

On the pragmatic side, this would be an excellent addition to a Spanish classroom. The characters slip effortlessly between English and Spanish, as if it were one whole language instead of two. Yes, there is some strong language. Yes, there are adult situations. However, they are essential to Yoli's growing up.

Kat - RAM - Wisconsin

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Kat - RAM - Wisconsin