Winner of the 1996 National Book Award for young people’s fiction, "Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez" is less a sweeping traditional novel and more a series of short character sketches. Living in a poor Mexican-American project in California, Manny Hernandez attempts to navigate the minefield that is his life - Just as the reader attempts to navigate the short vignettes. Son to a violent, unemployed alcoholic father, Manny watches helplessly as he begins to view his family through a new, more honest lens. His family’s struggle to become more than just the typical, poor Mexican-American teen and become reflections of the difficulties facing families everywhere.
The events of the book are heavy material, including the death of a grandmother, abuse by parents, a sister’s miscarriage, and Manuel’s flirtation with gang life.
Some of my friends would really like this story, and that they would be able to connect to it as a result of the Latino main character.