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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Backtracked by Pedro de Alcantara

How would you like to travel in time? 



Plenty of movies allow us the experience.....Well, this book Backtracked will allow you to travel in time if you are interested!

Alcantara, P. Backtracked. New York: Delacorte Press: 2009.  ISBN: 9780385734196  256 pgs.  $5.99 (Order from amazon.com)



Accolades: 

"Pedro de Alcantara creates a heartwarming story of loss and self discovery. . . . Readers will find themselves fascinated with de Alcantara’s use of true historical events and his obvious adoration for New York. Overall, this is a fantastic read for young and old alike."— Pick of the Month, ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) 
(from http://www.pedrodealcantara.com/backtracked/)


My Review: 

Tommy Latrella is the younger brother of a lost firefighter hero from the 9-11 attacks.  Tommy has had a hard time dealing with his brother’s death after he died.  He has been lashing out on his parents, his teachers and also skipping school.  He can’t seem to live up to any expectations of those teachers at Xaverian in Bay Village – he is never as good as his older brother.  He escapes his lot in life by riding the subways and he even tries to make his mark by spraying graffiti all over the city. One day he rides the subway all night and he gets into a lot of trouble with his parents when he comes home.  He decides to run away, but at the time, he didn’t know how far he would go – he winds up in the year 1918!  Latrella, or “Wig Latrella” as he would be called, experiences quite a bit of adventure in this book.  That is if you consider serving jail time, living in a run down tenement apartment, working with Italian immigrants to dig subway tunnels, experiencing life in the Great Depression by living in a Hooverville an adventure.  As if that wan’t enough adventure for Tommy, he had to take a job working for the mob during Prohibition and he joined the army as a paratrooper in WWII in 1942.   Each place he travels, he learns and experiences the time period and the differences in culture, setting and personalities of those around him.  He is challenged and gains valuable life experiences in each time all the while appreciating his family, friends and school even more upon his return. 

This book is historically accurate and allows for you - the reader - to experience life back in 1918, life in the Depression and even life in WWII.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in experiencing life as a time traveler!  Time travel has always been something I enjoy thinking about.  If you are the type who likes to talk to your grandparents about what it was like “back in the day”– this book will provide you with a way to experience what those in the past experienced.  Also, it might even provide you, like it did Tommy, with an appreciation for those who have gone before us and experienced real hardship and struggle.  Tommy feels empowered through his struggles in the many places he time traveled – he was able to fit in a new place in time without a dime in his pocket, only the shirt on his back, and sometimes without shoes on his feet!  Upon Tommy’s return to present time he knew he had to make changes– and he did.  Through Tommy’s experiences, we can grow in value of our own circumstances in life and be grateful for the struggle that others endured so that we might have all that we do.   Recommended for teens from middle school through high school and even young adults.  If you enjoy time traveling, historically accurate novels and adventure, then this book is for you!

Check out Tommy Latrella's World on this flickr slideshow.  

About the Author:  (from the back book flap)

Pedro de Alcantara (http://www.pedrodealcantara.com/) is a Brazilian musician who lives in Paris.  He started riding the subways in New York when he was 19 years old and freshly arrived in the U.S. from his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Ever since, he’s wanted to tell a story about a young man in a hostile city whose best friend is the subway.  His first novel for young people, Befiddled, is available from Yearling Books.  Read about it here on Alcantara's website:  Befiddled

Questions to reflect on:
  1. What were Tommy’s experiences like prior to time travel?
  2. Describe Tommy’s experiences during time travel.
  3. Which time period was the hardest for Tommy and why?
  4.  Which time period had the greatest impact on Tommy and why?
  5.  How did Tommy change throughout the story in each experience? 

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