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Overview
THE THIRD NOVEL in the Roosevelt High School Series for young adults, Tommy Stands Alone deals with a difficult issue: a young man's struggle with his sexual orientation, a struggle made more difficult by his family's traditional Hispanic expectations.Uncomfortable with dating girls and equally distressed by his interest in a male friend, Tommy begin to cut classes and drink alcohol in order to avoid his friends and their increasing awareness that he may be gay. His attempt at suicide lands him in the hospital and leads to a fledgling relationship with counsel Ms. Martinez. Scenes narrated by Tommy are juxtaposed with those narrated by Ms. Martinez, whose brother committed suicide and whose brother-in-law has found out he is HIV positive. Family and friends' efforts to deal with his sexual preference and Tommy's encounters with bigoted students are all detailed realistically and will make worthwhile reading for young people.
A high school student and member of a Mexican American family struggles with his sexual identity and finally learns that he will not have to stand alone any more.
Synopsis
THE THIRD NOVEL in the Roosevelt High School Series for young adults, Tommy Stands Alone deals with a difficult issue: a young man's struggle with his sexual orientation, a struggle made more difficult by his family's traditional Hispanic expectations.
Uncomfortable with dating girls and equally distressed by his interest in a male friend, Tommy begin to cut classes and drink alcohol in order to avoid his friends and their increasing awareness that he may be gay. His attempt at suicide lands him in the hospital and leads to a fledgling relationship with counsel Ms. Martinez. Scenes narrated by Tommy are juxtaposed with those narrated by Ms. Martinez, whose brother committed suicide and whose brother-in-law has found out he is HIV positive. Family and friends' efforts to deal with his sexual preference and Tommy's encounters with bigoted students are all detailed realistically and will make worthwhile reading for young people.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9Tommy, a Chicano teen, is uncomfortable with the attention girls shower on him and wants to avoid his friends. When Rudy and Tyrone find a note written to him from David the joto (queer), Tommy can't take it anymore. He buys a bottle of vodka, steals some pills from his family's medicine cabinet, and attempts to kill himself. Maya, his best friend, calls on Ms. Martnez, a counselor, to guide him through this crisis. Although Tommy needs assistance, he is reluctant to come to terms with the fact that he is gay. Maya finally confronts him and forces him to deal with the situation. Once he does, the knowledge that there is hope comes very slowly at first, for he needs to open up to his family and, more importantly, to himself. Velsquez writes with clarity about the pain and suffering that the characters experience. But the message of getting help is overly stressed throughoutreaders will feel deluged with advice. And while the advice is sound, the story is just too heavy-handed for YAs to take seriously.Jana R. Fine, Clearwater Public Library System, FL