Novio Boy: A Play

by Gary Soto

Overview

Ninth grader Rudy has a date with eleventh grader Patricia. Now he has to come up with the money, the poise, and the conversation to carry it off. This one-act play, by turns heartwarming and heart-wrenching, follows Rudy from his desperate search for guidance through the hilarious date itself—all the way to its happy conclusion.

Includes a glossary of Spanish phrases.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152058630
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	10/01/2006
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	57,497
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Gary Soto 's first book for young readers, Baseball in April and Other Stories, won the California Library Association's Beatty Award and was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. He has since published many novels, short stories, plays, and poetry collections for adults and young people. He lives in Berkeley, California. Visit his website at www.garysoto.com .

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A hip, funny play."—School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

"A hip, funny play."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

In this lively, humorous seven scene play, shy ninth grader Rudy, finally gets up enough nerve to ask out attractive eleventh grader, Patricia, out on a lunch date to Steaks, Steaks y mas Steaks. Pleased but shocked that she accepted him, he seeks advice from his friend Alex and others, on how to impress her. As usual, Soto does a great job of depicting Mexican American culture of Southern California, while exploring situations and experiences that have universal appeal. The play is fun to read and also seems like it would be fun to put on, especially in bilingual classes, since quite a few Spanish words are woven into English text. A glossary, list of characters, and performance notes are included.

Children's Literature - Gisela Jernigan

Rudy, a ninth-grade Mexican American boy, asks an eleventh-grade girl for a date, and she accepts. Understandably nervous, Rudy discusses the situation with his friend Alex, his mother, and his wacky uncle. Their differing advice does little to calm his nerves, and when the great event finally happens, all and sundry show up at the restaurant to check things out. This humorous play has a cast of well-drawn, likeable characters (six male, five female) and would be a fun play for teenagers to perform. Those unfamiliar with the Spanish language will find themselves flipping to the handy glossary in the back, since many Spanish phrases are sprinkled through the dialogue. Glossary. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

VOYA - Alice F. Stern