Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring while helping make tamales for a Christmas family get-together. Panic ensues when hours later, she realizes the ring is missing.

"Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood" -- Title page verso.

The author describes his experiences growing up as a Mexican American in Fresno, California.

Maya, the flower girl, describes a Mexican American wedding through snapshots of the day's events, beginning with the procession to the altar and ending with her sleeping after the dance.

A collection of thirteen short stories about the everyday lives of Mexican American young people in California's Central Valley.

A collection of eleven short stories focusing on the everyday adventures of Hispanic young people growing up in Fresno, California. In this unique collection of short stories, the small events of daily life reveal big themes -- love and friendship, youth and growing up, success and failure. Calling on his own experiences of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto brings to life the joys and pains of young people everywhere. The smart,...