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Miss Lou the Reader | 2/18/2014
" Yawn. Yikes at a few points. But yawn the rest. Interesting "new look" at multicultural YA literature? Not so sure. I suppose this first attempt to write for this age group fills in a gap, but I sure as heck need a nap. "
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Joey | 2/15/2014
" Dark Dude will bring you emotion. Personally I like that the main character is Cuban and and his best friends are Puerto Rican, like me. But Rico's point of view towards life is very interesting, His mother blames him for every thing, his dad is always drunk and telling him that he is going to send Rico to a boot camp. Even though Rico is Cuban he still looks white and because of that he gets jumped several times. The extremes he has to go to be away from all that pain is interesting. He gave up his family to be happy and in peace. "
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Toni Bladholm | 2/4/2014
" This book really makes you think about cultural clashes. I enjoyed the narrator! "
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Catherine Mustread | 1/20/2014
" Cubano teen Rico who looks "white" deals with prejudice in NYC & Wisconsin, and searches for his identity while living as a runaway in Wisconsin after his family decides to send him to a military school. Great hitchhiking roadtrip description and interesting observations about the differences between life in NYC and a farm in Wisconsin. Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Oscar Hijuelos writes a realistic novel about coming of age, life decisions, relationships with friends and parents. Rico reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and finds similarities to his own experiences. "
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Beckett | 1/17/2014
" Not my favorite, but I appreciate the premise, which is why I read it... "
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Aramis | 1/15/2014
" Great book with a Cuban protagonist that takes place in the late 60s/early 70s. Sex, drugs, and Cubans! "
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Clay | 1/14/2014
" Three and a half stars. The main character of this YA is a "Dark Dude" or Cubano who looks Caucasian and finds he doesn't really fit in to either world. The story's not quite as strong as the characters, but many have really stayed with me. Solid YA effort by an fine adult author. "
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Brenda | 1/8/2014
" Fabulous, uplifting YA story of the power of friendship and self-belief. Young Cuban protagonist is real and flawed but ultimately grows up and understands where he came from. "
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Joann | 12/23/2013
" YA coming of age story--great juxtaposition of NYC in the 60's and rural Wisconsin. Excellent writing. "
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Ellen Hopkins | 9/17/2013
" Well written literary novel, as would be expected from this author. Not sure YA readers will stay with the story, as it's largely missing action. "
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Christine Keleny | 5/14/2013
" I was reading this for a mother-daughter book club I am in. "
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Alejandro Liendo | 12/12/2012
" the book was crazy! all i got to say you have to read it if you want to know more about it, but i highly recommand "
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Valerie | 7/24/2012
" A nice take on a YA coming-of-age story. "
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Doneen | 12/4/2011
" Because this was written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, I had high hopes for it. I was a little disappointed, but since it's a Young Adults book, maybe I'm just too old to really appreciate it. I can see it being meaningful for a young Hispanic kid, which is who it's written for. "
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Jane | 11/16/2011
" While the writing style isn't exactly my fav- I enjoyed this book, the contrast between the atmosphere of New York and rural Wisconsin, the varied reactions to change, It was a pleasure watching Rico grow up. I can easily see this book winning some awards. "
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Jessica | 8/12/2011
" this book starts off talking about how this boy lives and how his friend won the lottery and he got some money out of it to "
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Matthew | 3/30/2011
" Self indulgent garbage. Not worth reading.
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Christine | 3/29/2011
" I was reading this for a mother-daughter book club I am in.
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Sonia | 11/19/2010
" Great Story. A little too much unnecessary language for me.
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Julianne | 9/2/2010
" It was an alright book, I expected more. The book is definitely a quick read, but I find the plot a bit lacking. There should have been more going on, in my opinion.
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Tobyh | 7/28/2010
" I wouldn't call Dark Dude a masterpiece, but there were defiantly interesting sections. I felt the author left out information that could have been helpful to the reader, for example Halloween night with Sheri. My favorite character was Jimmy, and I felt the author did a good job making him grow.
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Brenda | 3/27/2010
" Fabulous, uplifting YA story of the power of friendship and self-belief. Young Cuban protagonist is real and flawed but ultimately grows up and understands where he came from.
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Taj | 3/21/2010
" This book was amazing and i felt like it was speaking about me, i reccomend this book to any teenager in an urban or rural environment.
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