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Chatita never saw "anything wrong with living on a road named for a small blood-sucking arachnid," until her older brother explains that the road is "Garland Potter," not Tick Road, as the kids had been calling it. "Look, little sister, just keep saying Garrapata, and see how you'll be made fun of at school. The Americanos wi... More

Chatita never saw "anything wrong with living on a road named for a small blood-sucking arachnid," until her older brother explains that the road is "Garland Potter," not Tick Road, as the kids had been calling it. "Look, little sister, just keep saying Garrapata, and see how you'll be made fun of at school. The Americanos will really laugh at you."

In this tender debut novel, a medley of young voices bring to life a small Mexican-American community in South Texas during the 1940s and 1950s. In this untouched world, young men depart for World War II, whispers of El Chupasangre (the blood sucker) crawl across the countryside, a brother sacrifices the little money he has for a pastel dess for his sister, and one young girl makes a painful mistake when she disobeys her parents for a tryst with her boyfriend. Each of their lives plays out in the shadows of the world outside their small community and reflects the awakening of a generation of young Mexican Americans whose lives bridge two cultures.