Books for adults and High School Students
A Simple Plan
Chronicle Books, paper, $14.00"Soto returns to his childhood territory of Fresno, California. The gem of this collection is 'The Bean Plants,' which Soto asserts is his best poem to date."
Jesse
Harcourt, paper, $7.00A novel set during the Vietnam War and el movimiento of the early 1970s.
"[Jesse] struggles to find himself and a meaningful life in spite of the limits placed on him by poverty and prejudice. All in all, a highly readable novel." Booklist
"Readers looking for a finely written, contemplative narrative will appreciate this work." School Library Journal, starred
"A moving, engrossing novel that contains strands of both humor and despair." The Horn Book
Natural Man
Chronicle Books, paper, $14.00, 1999The gritty landscape of these poems is peopled with big talkers, lazy souls, wannabe mariachis, and teenage werewolves looking for their first date. With a dizzying mixture of comedy and heartbreak, A NATURAL MAN documents the poet's ongoing struggle to make sense of a disorienting world. Adult and high school reading.
Living Up the Street
Bantam Doubleday Dell, paper, $6.50Twenty-one recollections of growing up Chicano in Fresno, California. This book has been an underground bestseller since 1985. Winner of the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award.
Nickel and Dime
University of New Mexico Press, hordbound, $15.00Paper, $10.00, 2000
A novel of the folly of three men in their later years: poet Silver Mendez, retiring bankguard Gustavo Hernandez, and homeless Roberto Silva and mix in Oakland California. Adult and high school reading.
The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy
Persea Books, paper, $13.00, 2008This collection of popular essays includes the much-anthologized "Like Mexicans" and "The Jacket." Adult and high school reading.
New and Selected Poems
Chronicle Books, paper, $15.00The best of Gary's poetry dating from 1974 to 1994. Finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Argeles Times Book Award.
Amnesia in a Republican County
University of New Mexico Press, hardbound, $18.00Our fictional Chicano poet, Silver Mendez, suffers amnesia. Hilarious new adult novel
The Afterlife
Harcourt, hardcover, $17.00Harcourt, paper, $7.00
A love story, this is the sequel to Soto’s popular novel Buried Onions.
“[Soto] not only paints the scenery brilliantly but also captures the pain that follows an early death. [The novel] will stay in [your] memory.” Booklist, star review.
Buried Onions
Putnam, paper, $7.00Eddie struggles to avoid gangs in avenging the murder of his cousin.
"A valuable tale, it's one that makes no concessions." Kirkus Review
A Summer Life
Bantam Doubleday Dell, paper, $6.50More recollections of growing up in Fresno. These small snapshot-like stories appeal to high school and college students.
Novio Boy, a Play
Harcourt, paper, $6.00In this humorous play, 9th-grade Rudy asks an 11th-grade "older" woman for a date. A Chicano play through and through, it has been performed in schools throughout the Southwest and California.
"...true to its title, a sweetheart of a play." Booklist
Nerdlandia: a Play
Penguin Putnam, paper, $6.00Martin, a brilliant Chicano nerd, is hopelessly in love with Ceci, the most beautiful chola on campus. A great script for performance.
Poetry Lover
University of New Mexico Press, hardcover only, $18.00Silver Mendez, our favorite fictional poet, rekindles a romance from the 1960s despite his hard-scrabble, hand-to-mouth existence.
Human Nature
Tupelo PressPaper only, $15.00
Gary Soto's eleventh book of poems for adults, Human Nature is full of arresting images and surprising scenarios and probably more uncanny opening lines than in any book you'll read all year.