Martinez's impressive second novel (after Crossing) gives us the world through the eyes of 16-year-old Mexican-American Robert Lomos, part tough-talking cynic, part sensitive older brother and son who is forced to learn more than he wants to about adult responsibilities when his mother has a mental breakdown. Robert's father, a jazz musician, abandoned his family two years before; his mother became unstable after his desertion and left San Antonio, Tex., to live with a sister in Los Angeles, taking Robert's three-year-old brother with her. Robert now lives with his no-nonsense grandmother, who sends him to the evangelical Sunnydale Christian Academy when he gets kicked out of public school for acting out. Robert is no angel—favorite activities include fighting, getting high and cruising for girls—but he longs to reunite his family. The jobs available to him, mainly busboy positions, are arduous and low paying, but he toughs it out until he has the money to get to Los Angeles (and succinctly sums up what many restaurant employees think of customers: "Watching them eat is enough to turn you against humanity"). He is hardly welcomed in L.A. with open arms, however. His aunt, Naomi, is hostile and suspicious, fearing that he'll upset the family's fragile equilibrium. Robert's efforts to help his brother, Antony, in school go awry, and he's once again getting into fights. Above all, his mother is more fragile than he imagined, and his attempt at a gallant rescue does not work out as he'd hoped. The story flags somewhat when he returns to San Antonio and a construction job, but Robert's biting, assured voice makes the book a standout. (Apr.)
