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Bait
by Alex Sanchez
Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing
239 pages
Characters: Diego MacMann, Mr. Vidas
POV: Third Person
Setting: Modern Day, Texas
Genre: Young Adult
Book Cover Rating: 4
5+ KISSES
Blurb:
When a guy in his class looks at him funny, Diego punches him in the face, and ends up on probation. At first he wants nothing to do with his probation officer. But as Diego starts to open up, he begins to realize that Mr. Vidas is the first person in his life who ever really wanted to listen to him. With Vidas’s help, Diego begins to make real progress in controlling his anger. He even opens up enough to tell Vidas about the shark tooth that his stepfather gave him that he uses to cut himself. But only if Diego can find the courage to trust Vidas with the darkest secrets from his past will he be able to heal completely. In this bold story of a boy trying to grow beyond a painful past, award-winning author Alex Sanchez calls upon his personal experience as a probation officer to reveal the complexities of one of his most genuinely realized characters to date.
Review:
Diego MacMann is a hot-tempered sixteen year old from Texas. Outwardly he seems well-adjusted, in spite of a rather tragic past, yet he finds himself in a situation where his temper gets the best of him. He assaults another student at school after being called a derogatory name, and he ends up in court facing the possibility of probation or a sentence to juvenile detention.
When Diego is assigned a probation officer, Mr. Vidas, it becomes clear that Diego is harboring some rather weighty secrets. Vidas is the first person in Diego’s life that he’s comfortable speaking to about these issues, and almost immediately the two bond. Diego shows his arm to Vidas, revealing deep cuts and scars where he has mutilated himself with a shark’s tooth. Diego cuts himself as a means of coping with some serious internal pain.
Diego’s anger and self-hatred stem from tragedy within his past, and as he grows to trust his counselor, he reveals his darkest secret of all. Even Vidas may not be able to save Diego from the rage that eventually erupts. It could cost Diego everything—his family, his girlfriend, and his freedom.
Bait was one of the most emotionally charged stories that I’ve ever read. It tackles a very difficult topic in a way which I’ve not yet seen any other author accomplish. Alex Sanchez explains that in his view, effective prose must be written with emotion, and in Bait he proves his point. I think I began weeping about halfway through the novel and didn’t stop until the last page.
But the real strength of this story is not merely that it is an undeniable tear-jerker. Sanchez has an uncanny ability to bring his characters to life in a way which makes them seem real and believable. They are flawed. They are sometimes quirky, sometimes frustrating, but very relatable.
I also greatly admired the fact that the story was written exclusively from Diego’s point of view. With the third person narrative, the author was able to objectively describe the central character, yet he was also very rigid about avoiding head hopping. To do this in a manner that fleshes out the secondary characters in such a vivid way requires tremendous skill.
Bait is a story that lingers in the mind of the reader long after they’ve finished reading. I found myself revisiting Diego mentally, remembering how he felt and empathizing with his emotions. The book was disturbing to me in a way that made me feel unsettled. I gained a new perspective on why people sometimes express themselves with violence or hostility. I also gained insight to the recovery process that an individual goes through during long term, focused therapy. It was agonizing to witness, yet it was amazingly powerful. And the symbolism within the story also left me with a great deal to contemplate.
It is without reservation that I recommend this book, not particularly as gay-themed literature, but as a spectacular work of art.
Review by Jeff
