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    The Closest I've Come
    The Closest I've Come
    The Closest I've Come
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Closest I've Come

    Written by Fred Aceves

    Narrated by Christian Barillas

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A Kirkus Best Book of 2017 * A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year * An ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection

    Read the book Morris Award finalist Sonia Patel called ""a brilliant, subtle debut,"" and Kirkus hailed as ""heart-wrenching, funny, hopeful, and not-to-be-missed"" in a starred review!

    The Closest I’ve Come is a must-read from talented first-time author Fred Aceves, in the tradition of Walter Dean Myers.

    Marcos Rivas yearns for love, a working cell phone, and maybe a pair of sneakers that aren’t falling apart. But more than anything, Marcos wants to get out of Maesta, his hood, away from his indifferent mom and her abusive boyfriend—which seems impossible.

    When Marcos is placed in a new after-school program, he meets Zach and Amy, whose friendship inspires Marcos to open up to his Maesta crew, too, and starts to think more about his future and what he has to fight for. Marcos ultimately learns that bravery isn’t about acting tough and being macho; it’s about being true to yourself.

    The Closest I’ve Come is a story about traversing real and imagined boundaries, about discovering new things in the world, and about discovering yourself, too.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 7, 2017
    ISBN9780062689481
    Author

    Fred Aceves

    Fred Aceves is the author of The Closest I’ve Come, which was an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year selection, and an NYPL Best Books selection. The New David Espinoza is his second novel. Fred has lived in seven different countries and currently lives in Mexico. His online home is www.fredaceves.com.

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    Reviews for The Closest I've Come

    3.5/5

    6 ratings1 review

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    • 4/5
      teen fiction (realistic high school; poor Hispanic, Black, and White kids living in urban Florida; learning the value of friends when parents can't provide consistent support) #ownvoices
      This story reminds me of the print article about a teacher who gained perspective into her students' lives when she gave her class a writing assignment: "What do you wish your teacher knew about you?" For those of us who have always lived comfortably outside of poverty, it may never occur to us that some students struggle with school because they're too busy trying to feed themselves/trying to avoid abusive guardians/just trying to survive day to day (plus all of the other obstacles that occur throughout their lives). This book provides some valuable insight for adults in that way, but I think it would also resonate with its intended teen audience.