From the Bookshelves: Matt de la Peña, “Mexican WhiteBoy
Mexican WhiteBoy (2010) is an interesting book by young adult fiction writer Matt de la Peña.
Here is a brief description: 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. 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 else 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.
The New York Times has reported that “after a new state law targeting Mexican-American studies courses that are perceived as antiwhite was upheld, it became illegal to teach `Mexican WhiteBoy’ in Tucson’s classrooms. State officials cited the book as containing `critical race theory,’ a violation under a provision that prohibits lessons `promoting racial resentment.’”
KJ