Taking Sides

Taking Sides is the story about Lincoln Mendoza, a teen who lived in the barrio(the Mission Street district in San Francisco) , and then moved with his mother, Beatrice and family pet, Flaco, to a suburb 10 miles south of the city. The move was made to escape the violence of the streetsbut irinically, their new house is broken into while Lincoln is sleeping.
Linc is a hotshot basketball playerand most of the plot revolves around the upcoming basketball game between Lin'c old school, Franklin and his new school, Columbus. Linc has friends on his old team , and remains friends with his old coach. Linc misses the old neighborhood and its sense of macho survival. In the suburbs his loyalty is questioned as the upcoming game approaches. Columbus is the favorite, has the new gym, better conference record, flashy uniforms, and Linc is concerned about rubbing it in his old teamates. Linc hass developed sensitivity as an athlete and friend quite opposite from his old setting. The macho male image is looked at and discussed in the novel fom different angles. Linc emerges as a strong male teen defending his home, his background, and his pride. Linc's coach at Columbus represents a typical male coaching mentality, a vato loco.
I consider myself a well rounded person who has many interests, played sports and appreciates sports but not at the winner at all cost phil0sophy. The book reinforced that concept to me, which many schools and coaches oppose as winning matters most.
The author, Gary Soto is a poet, novelist, and film producer. The neighborhood that Soto was raised in serves as the setting for Taking Sides as well as in the sequel, Pacific Crossing. Other notable books written by Soto are: Small Faces, his book of memoirs, Baseball in April, his book published for young adults, and Too Many Tamales, an outstanding pictue book discussing family and traditions.
The book, Taking Sides includes a glossary of Spanish terms used in the book, and includes several chapters of the sequel, Pacific Crossing, so that we see the character of Linc Mendozan another phase of his life.