Buried Onions

By: Gary Soto

Narrated by: Robert Ramirez

Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Eddie's father, two uncles, and best friend are all dead, and it's a struggle for him not to end up the same way. Violence makes Fresno wallow in tears, as if a huge onion were buried beneath the city. Making an effort to walk a straight line despite constant temptations and frustrations, Eddie searches for answers—and discovers that his closest friends may actually be his worst enemies.

Includes a listener's guide and a glossary of Spanish words and phrases.

©1997 Gary Soto (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This bleak, claustrophobic novel perfectly captures the cyclical despair of its [19-year-old, Hispanic protagonist]." (Publishers Weekly)

Pretty Good story

Gary Soto tells a great story about poverty, violence, and the struggles that one goes through in life. he does this in a very artistic way by including heaps of metaphoric language that presents the reader/listener with detailed imagery. This is definitely an influence of Soto's time writing poetry.

That said, he doesn't put his home town in any form of positive light. he makes the Central Valley of California seem like a place no one would want to live, and that is a bit of a shame.

Thee preformance by the narrator was quite good. He does a good job of going through a book that has Spanish words and phrases in it.

teacher of Hispanics

very good book for student from a Hispanic population and other students - good reading g