Seeing Off the Johns

September 28, 2015
Concepcion “Chon” Gonzales—tall, lonely, and directionless—is in love with Araceli, girlfriend of one of the “Johns,” two local baseball stars bound for the University of Texas. When the Johns die in a car accident, the entire community goes into mourning, and Chon’s friendships with his best friend, Henry Monsevais, and Araceli (who is also Henry’s cousin) are cemented. Together, the three celebrate their final year of high school and the daunting prospects that follow—a college career, a welding apprenticeship, and a long-term stint as a convenience store clerk. As Chon and Araceli grow closer, despite the community’s disapproval, Chon must decide if he will stay in the only place he knows or confront his fears and leave Greenton, Tex., behind. Perez (Along These Highways) captures the claustrophobia of small-town life in piercing detail, complete with listless drinking and sex. Drifting between community members with Chon at its center, the story follows Chon and Araceli into their new lives, a space where promises of forever do not always last, creating a touching meditation on first love and the pains of growing up. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from November 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-In Greenton, TX, everything revolves around the Johns, the two star baseball and football players in the local high school. Everyone in town even wakes up before dawn to come out and send them off to college and wish them luck. When a tragic accident occurs, resulting in their untimely deaths, everything changes, especially for 16-year-old Chon Gonzales. Chon is a somewhat average teen working a dead-end job in a gas station and occasionally hooking up with an older female coworker. He's looking to get out of his small town and win over Araceli, the girl of his dreams who used to date one of the Johns. Chon struggles with his desire to pursue a relationship with Araceli as well as the feeling that he is possibly taking advantage of a bad situation for his personal benefit. Perez captures the spirit of small-town USA and the high school football culture that often dominates. The protagonist and his friends all have authentic teen voices, and the author never shies away from colorful profanity and somewhat explicit sex talk. Perez briefly follows up with some of the members of the town throughout the story to show how the loss of the Johns affects them in ways big and small. The last chapter jumps forward in time to see how Chon and his relationships with his friends and lovers are resolved. This authentic story of loss is powerful and one that many readers will not forget. VERDICT A well-told story of life in a small town that will resonate with older teen readers.-Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Loss, love, and coming of age meet in a small, hormone-charged (fictional) Texas town. After a debut collection of short stories for adults (Along These Highways, 2012), Perez offers a teen novel that begins in the summer of 1998, when John Mejia and John Robison, two all-star athletes from Greenton, die in a fatal car accident on the way to Austin, where they were supposed to start what would certainly have been the next chapter of their legendary lives at the University of Texas. While the whole town mourns the Johns' deaths, Concepcion "Chon" Gonzalez, a character who might remind readers of a Texan Oscar Wao, thinks of only Araceli Monsevais, "Goddess of Greenton and queen of Chon's dreams" and Mejia's abandoned girlfriend. Despite occasional pacing lulls and choppy transitions, Perez successfully zooms out to share the goings-on, mostly relevant, in a town that's grooming new athletes and amid families that are coping with grief for lost sons before narrowing his focus again to Chon's deliberate, at times nonexistent advances toward Araceli. The balance between Tex-Mex dialogue and omniscient narration is handled with ease, and the sex-fueled moments-from blow-job scenes to relationships with minors-only add to the sensation of feeling stuck and limited in Greenton. There's no clear explanation as to why the novel's protagonist was given what's typically a woman's name meaning "immaculate conception." An atmospheric, refreshing read that will resonate with readers from towns both small and large. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

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October 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Thanks to their athletic prowess, the two JohnsMejias and Robisonown the hearts and minds of their one-stoplight hometown of Greenton, Texas. But on their way to the University of Texas in Austin and greater glory, both phenoms are killed in a truck accident. A tragedy, and yet not everyone is devastated by it: Chon, for one, isn't, as his former girlfriend, the beautiful Araceli, was stolen away by Mejias. Chon wonders if their relationship is fated to remain a simple friendship, or if now he might be able to win her back. Though the context of Perez's first novel is Mexican American, Chon's longings are universal, ones every reader can identify with. If there is a fault with the novel, it is that it can be too detailed; Perez has a habit of telling readers more than they need to know, slowing the pace of the narrative. That aside, however, the novel achieves its goal of bringing two appealing teens and their relationship to vivid life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016
A Texas town is rocked by tragedy when "the Johns," two star baseball players, die in an accident, but Chon Gonzales hopes that this is his chance to finally be with John Mejia's girlfriend, Araceli. Strong, evocative language paints a vivid portrait of a tiny and hopeless town. The plot isn't as compelling as the character studies strung throughout the book.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)