Mexican WhiteBoy
By Common Sense Media,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Emotional, violent story of teen looking for his identity.

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Based on 1 parent review
Good multicultural title for high school boys
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What's the Story?
MEXICAN WHITEBOY describes one summer in the life of Danny, the son of a White mother and a Mexican American father. Danny hasn't seen his dad for a long time, and doesn't really know why he left. Meanwhile, Danny's mom and her new boyfriend are spending the summer in San Francisco, so Danny has elected to stay for a few months with his dad's relatives in National City, outside of San Diego. Danny longs to fit in with the Mexican side of his family, but he feels he doesn't belong anywhere. He's also been struggling with the fact that, though he has exceptional talent, he has been cut from his high school baseball team because he chokes under pressure. Danny believes his dad is living in Mexico, and he longs to find him and reconnect. Meanwhile, he's getting to know his dad's relatives, working on his baseball pitches, making new friends, and trying to negotiate a world that's a bit rougher than he's used to.
Is It Any Good?
A biracial teen tries to get to know his Mexican side in this gritty coming-of-age story. In Mexican WhiteBoy, author Matt de la Peña creates a heartbreakingly sympathetic main character in Danny. Inside the boy's head, his pain is understandable, and his flailing efforts to fit in are typically and relatably adolescent. It's wonderful to observe all that Danny discovers about himself as he begins to connect with family and new friends. His tendency to turn his pain inward doesn't change, but everything looks brighter when he has friends. De la Peña is masterful in showing Danny's inner life transforming in subtle ways. Another wonderful aspect of la Peña's writing is his ability to describe sports and physical fights so that the reader can easily visualize the action.
Lacking in nuance, however, is the world de la Peña creates in National City, where Mexican Americans are portrayed as consuming excessive amounts of food, beer, and tequila, allowing their children to drink alcohol, and flying off the handle. This novel offers a tender portrayal of a teen's inner struggles, but a less sensitive view of Mexican American families.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how biracial characters are portrayed in Mexican WhiteBoy. What other books and movies can you think of that feature teens with multiple identities? What are some of the common themes in these stories?
What do you think about the way Mexican Americans and White Americans are portrayed in the novel? How are they different and similar? Do the characters seem realistic to you?
Why is it that sometimes Danny can't pitch as well as he can at other times? What's going on with him? How does he master the problem?
Book Details
- Author: Matt de la Peña
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication date: August 1, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 17
- Number of pages: 249
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: November 30, 2020
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