“[A] first-rate exploration of self-identity.” —School Library Journal
Danny’s tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five-mile-an-hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it. Ball ends up so far out of the strike zone it’s laughable.
But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego, that close to the border, means everyone knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.
That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see—the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.
Set in the alleys and on the ball fields of San Diego County, Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions.
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“Narrator Henry Leyva introduces listeners to Danny Lopez, a half-white, half-Mexican 16-year-old with a great fastball…Leyva’s ability to differentiate male and female voices, add Spanish accents, and let listeners know what the characters are feeling will have them empathizing with Danny’s desire to look past his skin.”
— AudioFile
“Danny’s struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens but especially to those of mixed race.”
— Booklist“A great pick for reluctant or less-experienced readers.”
— School Library Journal“Blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity.”
— Kirkus ReviewsBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Matt de la Peña is the author of several acclaimed young-adult novels and one picture book, A Nation’s Hope. His debut novel, Ball Don’t Lie, was an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick and was made into a major motion picture. His second novel, Mexican WhiteBoy, was an ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults, a 2009 Notable Book for a Global Society, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a selction for the 2008 Blue Ribbon List of the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Literature. He received his MFA degree in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific. He teaches creative writing.
Henry Leyva, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is a classically trained actor with extensive work in theater, television, film, and radio. He has appeared off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country in many plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Street Car Named Desire. He has also performed in audio dramas for the Syfy Channel and National Public Radio