A Different Kind of Heat by Antonio Pagliarulo

CITATION: Pagliarulo, A. (2006). A different kind of heat. New York: Delacorte Press.

IDENTIFYING #: ISBN 0385732988

CLASSIFICATION: Fiction

GENRE: Urban Fiction/Realistic Fiction

CALL #: FIC PAGLIARULO

RECOMMENDED AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: Young Adult

RATING:5

Annotation: Teenage Luz Cordero is filled with grief and rage after her brother is shot and killed by a police officer.

Summary: Although she is only in high school, Luz Cordero has lived a lifetime of pain growing up in the Bronx. Julio, Luz's older brother, and her "crew" are all she really has, and in one horrible night, while Luz watches, Julio is shot and killed by a cop. Luz burns with rage when her brother's death is classified as a "justifiable homicide", and his killer, Mickey Pesaturo, is cleared by the investigation. Luz's rage earns her probation and residence in the St. Therese Home for Boys and Girls run by an unlikely nun, Sister Ellen. Sister Ellen gives Luz a journal, and through her writing, Luz begins to face the difficult truths about herself, Mickey Pesaturo, Julio, and "how it was", as she tries to let go of the past and to allow herself a future.

Note: If you know what it's like to lose someone you love, you will relate to this story. The grief and anger that accompany this kind of loss are frightening and difficult to overcome. Sometimes sadness and rage are ways of holding on, and it can seem like to let go of that pain would be to let go of that person. If you don't know what it's like to lose a loved one, this book may help you understand someone who has. Teenagers who enjoy realistic fiction will appreciate author Antonio Paliarulo's honest treatment of the problems that arise when people caught up by their circumstances don't see a way out. He uses Luz's story to show that there's no escape from these circumstances; people have to fight their way through in a way that's different from how they've ever fought before.