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Reviewed by Delene Vrey for Readers' Favorite
My Boys, by Ronald L. Ruiz, is a fictional YA drama. Abel Mendoza finds himself at the end of an unfulfilling career as a Public Defender. He has been passed over for promotions and as he feels more and more unable to help his young defendants, he falls deeper into the clutches of alcohol. As his career and life spin out of control, he decides to move to Mexico. Before long he is roped into voluntarily teaching English to inmates at the youth Tutelar. As Abel has to come to terms with the dangerous young men he teaches, he becomes more and more their advocate. As time goes on, he succeeds in helping the young men be seen and heard for what they want to accomplish in life. Little did Abel know that moving to Mexico would be the one move that would bring him fulfillment and an opportunity to accomplish that which he failed to do in the USA.
Ronald L. Ruiz writes a heart-breaking but truthful reflection of the broken world that we find ourselves in today. He tells the story of four men, one of whose professional life has come to an end. In volunteering at a Tutelar in Mexico, he starts on a path to help three young men come to terms with their crimes and build a new life when released. My Boys is a gripping narration of the harsh world that poverty creates for young people, but also a reflection on the responsibility that adults have in forming and guiding young people. The book takes a hard look at child abuse and the effect it has on the child and the community. For me, the fact that Mr. Ruiz indirectly makes the point that young adults want and need to be seen and heard for who they are is very important. The seemingly unimportant action of listening and seeing a young adult as well as acknowledging what they need to communicate may be one of the most important ways to help save at-risk youth. This book does contain explicit language, sexual situations, and graphic violence, but it is presented in a palatable way and supports the message that the author is conveying. My Boys by Ronald L. Ruiz is an exceptional book with a difficult but important story to tell. The social issues dealt with are real issues that the world faces and the message that there is and can be hope for broken people, both young and old, is very important and needs to be heard.
