Review: Boys of the Beast
Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda Tu Books (imprint of Lee & Low), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org The familiar theme of growth and bonding during an American road trip gets a fresh treatment in Boys of the Beast . Three estranged teen cousins from a mostly Latinx family meet up at Grandma Lupe's funeral and then drive her inherited car, nicknamed "the Beast," from Portland, OR back to Albuquerque, NM, with side adventures in Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ. While three first-person voices can be a lot for readers to keep track of, nerdy gay Jewish Ethan, sincere evangelical Christian Matt, and traumatized stoner Oscar are well-rounded and sympathetic characters, all worth rooting for. Each boy is on a quest, though they may not realize it at first. Ethan's quest takes them to San Francisco where he can finally meet the boy he's fallen in love with through texting; Matt wants to see USC where he dreams of