Trino's Choice

Bertrand, Diane Gonzales. Trino’s Choice. Houston: Pinata, 1999.

            This novel, written by Mexican-American Bertrand, tells the story of a seventh grade boy named Trino struggling to not only come to terms with the harsh living conditions of his south Texas barrio, but also in figuring out his true identity during this difficult period of adolescence. After falling in with a dangerous crowd led by an older boy with a violent streak, Trino must discern the kind of person he will become against extenuating circumstances that put un-due pressure on him: the lack of family finances, their life in a trailer park, his dead father and absent male figures, and his mother’s freeloading cousin.

            Trino’s Choice, while fitting within the typical plot of a adolescent novel, (Trino must defy the odds against him in order to discover his true self) offers extremely teachable material for the middle grades as the content and description of Trino’s life is so detailed and believable that many students could at least identify with one aspect of the book. The novel was full of action sequences that would serve to capture the attention of students and allow them to make strides in prediction making skills. Furthermore, Trino becomes torn between his chaos-causing gang of older friends and another group of seventh graders drawn to the relatable poetry of a Mexican poet, attending poetry readings at a local bookshop. In this way, the book builds upon the themes and power of poetry, similar to Bronx Masquerade.

            This book is extremely teachable for the middle grades and I can envision it functioning successfully in a classroom setting. While the book would work exceptionally well in a classroom with a majority Latin American population, I feel its themes can extend to all ethnic identities. Furthermore, the protagonist is a boy, which could deter some educators away because it would not be appealing to young female readers; however, I felt this novel could be appealing to both genders as there are some interesting female characters that students could analyze, as well.