The Almost Murder and Other Stories

✍ Scribed by Saldaña, Theresa

• Book ID: 108568767
• Publisher: Arte Público Press
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 67 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9781558855076

✦ Synopsis

"Pops stormed his way down the hall in a pissed-off march--trouble on the move. A quick glance at his florid, contorted face told me he was smashed. I looked down at meat, spoon, dough--anything to avoid his bleary red eyes. The stench of booze sickened me. So did my father."

In the title story of this gritty collection for teens, a young girl remembers the night her father almost killed her mother. The peace that comes when her father is put in jail is short lived though, because in order to keep him behind bars she will have to testify against him in court. Can she be strong enough to overcome her fear? What if he leaps out of his chair and attacks her too? Can she do what needs to be done in order to keep her mother and grandmother safe?

In Theresa Saldaña's first collection of stories for young adults, her characters confront issues relevant to all teens, from friendship to dreams for the future. Many, though, must overcome suffering--whether physical or...