DARK DUDE

Set in the 1960s, this coming-of-age story follows Rico, the son of Cuban immigrants, and his abused and drug-addicted friend, Jimmy, on a journey from the New York City ghetto to white-bread Wisconsin. With parallels to Huck Finn's journey, Rico's story of self-discovery is skillfully chronicled by Armando Durán, whose ease with accents is noteworthy. He seamlessly delivers the many Spanish phrases interspersed throughout the text and conveys Rico's sense of alienation and bewilderment when he experiences injustice and random violence in the rural Midwestern community. This title has been nominated as one of the top audiobooks for young adults by the American Library Association. M.H.N. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2009]