The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
The first day of senior year:
Everything is about to change. Until this moment, Sal has always been certain of his place with his adoptive gay father and their loving Mexican-American family. But now his own history unexpectedly haunts him, and life-altering events force him and his best friend, Samantha, to confront issues of faith, loss, and grief.
Suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and discovering that he no longer knows who he really is—but if Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?
MY OPINION: ****
I don't really know how to go about reviewing this book. There were so many things about it that I want to talk about and my mind can't process everything. So I'm sure that I'm going to forget something important and I'll feel sad later on.
I really enjoyed reading this book! I thought that the entire writing style was unique and abstract and I am starting to really enjoy Sáenz's writing style, what with the amount of dialogue proportioned to the amount of action and description.
This book was a huge load of "dead" parents and lost parents and unknown parents and it really dealt with teenagers and growing up and getting accustomed to the changes that are happening to you.
I thought this book was sad in a way but also happy. It was real. Life is going to be full of ups and downs and I thought Sáenz really captured that idea that life is not perfect.
The characters were sweet and I thought that at some points, they could just jump off the page. Sometimes, their actions or thoughts confused me, but I really enjoyed how abstract it was.
Salvador (aka "Sally") is forced to deal with a lot. He's adopted and his adoptive father is a gay man who is constantly being made fun of and Sal has to deal with the effects of that problem as well, considering that he's his son. He has also been finding himself getting in loads of fights against his will. They "just happen" and I truly understood. No, I do not physically fight, but sometimes I've said things or done things without meaning to or without thinking about it and then I regret it.
Samantha (aka "Sammy") -- THE NICKNAMES ARE ADORABLE -- was a girl who was also forced to deal with a ton of problems. She had an up and down relationship with her mother, Sylvia, and her father wasn't in the picture.
When her mother died, she realized that she should have tried harder. When you lose someone you love, you regret a lot of things.
Fito was sweet and I really loved his character. Yes, he's gay. So what? Why do the characters in both books and movies and the real world have to be so cruel to someone who's different from what society wants us to be? He's smart and he's kind and he's thankful for everything.
Mima was such a sweet grandma and I actually really enjoyed reading about those familial scenes, though I generally don't like reading about family. I don't really know why, so don't ask me.
The writing was beautiful, as I said before and here is my favorite quote!
"Well, where was the logic to loving? Where was the logic to dying in accidents? Where was the logic to cancer? Where was the logic to living? I was starting to believe that the human heart had an inexplicable logic." --Pages 233-234
I loved this book a lot and I would recommend it to readers who are looking for a read that's honest and heartfelt. Gosh, I sound like a cheesy publisher or something...
Main Character: Sal
Sidekick(s): Sam, Fito, dad, etc
Villain(s): death, cancer, crying, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book is very real to life.
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