Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
ORION CHILDREN'S (2016)
Description
"A novel about the illicit human and drug trade at the US-Mexican border."--
User reviews
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
I fell in love with Marcus Sedgwick‘s writing while reading The Ghosts of Heaven, a novel I found to be brilliantly structured, perfectly executed, and gorgeously written. Having read two other books of his since then, he has become one of the few authors whose work I will request without even
Saint Death has the added benefit of being timely in its subject matter. Taking place in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on the border with Texas, it exposes the very real dangers and hardships that come with living in a city ruled by gangs and drug cartels. The constant fear and the unimaginable poverty are grim reminders that just beyond our borders there are people with no hope and no future. Mr. Sedgwick never sugarcoats the truth no matter how poetic his writing, and there are scenes of such brutality that will turn readers’ stomachs. For all of that, his unflinching portrayal of Arturo, as well as the emotional turmoil he faces while trying to help a loved one, remains pure and honest.
The fact is that he is able to transport you to such a place, where you become so immersed in the story that real and fictional life blur, is a testament to Mr. Sedgwick’s ability to build a story. As Arturo fights for his life against a very short deadline, adrenaline races through your system. The dust and sewage fill your nostrils, and the constant backdrop of gunfire assaults your ears. Arturo’s fear tastes metallic and bitter in your mouth, and his impotence to make any sort of difference is yours. Mr. Sedgwick does this without commentary and without politics. He puts you in Arturo’s story and lets you see for yourself.
Saint Death is the type of novel that should be mandatory if we are ever going to become more empathetic to the world outside the U.S. borders. In a real way, it shows how U.S. policies have real and very negative effects on our neighbors to the south, and it shows the desperation that drives people to cross the border in spite of the risks. What I found most interesting is that it also shows the fear that prevents people from ever leaving such dire straits. Arturo’s world may seem the stuff of movies under anyone else’s pen, but under Mr. Sedgwick’s, it is a world that is as real as if you were there. That is the most chilling thing of all.
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looking at the synopsis. His stories to me are stunning in what they accomplish, whether it is a Cold War parable, a turn-of-the-century Parisian murder mystery, or his latest about narcoseconomics. No matter the topic or the era at hand, he captures human struggle and sacrifice so well that you ache to read it, and yet his prose is so beautiful that you cannot stop reading. It is a worthwhile conundrum and should not deter you from reading any novel by Mr. Sedgwick.Saint Death has the added benefit of being timely in its subject matter. Taking place in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on the border with Texas, it exposes the very real dangers and hardships that come with living in a city ruled by gangs and drug cartels. The constant fear and the unimaginable poverty are grim reminders that just beyond our borders there are people with no hope and no future. Mr. Sedgwick never sugarcoats the truth no matter how poetic his writing, and there are scenes of such brutality that will turn readers’ stomachs. For all of that, his unflinching portrayal of Arturo, as well as the emotional turmoil he faces while trying to help a loved one, remains pure and honest.
The fact is that he is able to transport you to such a place, where you become so immersed in the story that real and fictional life blur, is a testament to Mr. Sedgwick’s ability to build a story. As Arturo fights for his life against a very short deadline, adrenaline races through your system. The dust and sewage fill your nostrils, and the constant backdrop of gunfire assaults your ears. Arturo’s fear tastes metallic and bitter in your mouth, and his impotence to make any sort of difference is yours. Mr. Sedgwick does this without commentary and without politics. He puts you in Arturo’s story and lets you see for yourself.
Saint Death is the type of novel that should be mandatory if we are ever going to become more empathetic to the world outside the U.S. borders. In a real way, it shows how U.S. policies have real and very negative effects on our neighbors to the south, and it shows the desperation that drives people to cross the border in spite of the risks. What I found most interesting is that it also shows the fear that prevents people from ever leaving such dire straits. Arturo’s world may seem the stuff of movies under anyone else’s pen, but under Mr. Sedgwick’s, it is a world that is as real as if you were there. That is the most chilling thing of all.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thelibraryladies
One of the greatest discoveries that our book club helped me make was Marcus Sedgwick. When we read “Midwinterblood” I was completely enthralled by it, it’s dark fantasy/horrorscape sucking me in and twisting me all around. When we went to ALA in 2014, one of my greatest moments was meeting
I will admit that I was a little hesitant to pick this one up when I first heard about it. After all, the subject of life for Mexicans in the border towns, especially Juarez, is a difficult and painful one. American corporate interests and consumption of illegal drugs has led to massive poverty, and lots of gang warfare between various Cartels. So yeah, my teeth got set a little bit on edge when I found out that a British man was going to tell a story set with this backdrop. I’m still not totally certain if I think it’s his story to tell. BUT, that said, I think that Sedgwick did take it on a portray it in a sensitive and responsible way. It’s pretty clear that he did some massive research on his own, and asked for input from those who may be more familiar with the realities of this situation. And besides, “Saint Death” pulls no punches in postulating where some of the blame can be laid for the violence, corruption, and poverty that is seen in Juarez. American corporations exploit NAFTA to profit off of factories across the border that make them richer but barely pay anything to the workers, and the American consumption of illegal drugs fuels the Cartels. Throw in the topics of undocumented immigration and closed borders, as well as some climate change to boot, and you have yourself a very political book that makes it’s readers question how culpable they are through Capitalist ideals and the supposed free market.
But even without the frank and brutal politics, the characters in “Saint Death” really kept me interested and invested. Arturo and Faustino both make terrible decisions in this book, decisions that may have baffled and frustrated me. But at the same time, because of how well written they both were, I not only believed that they would make them, but I also understood exactly why they were making them. Though it’s Faustino whose choice to steal money to save his girlfriend and baby sets our story in motion, it’s ultimately Arturo whose story we follow. His journey to try to get one thousand dollars for his friend is a short one, and only takes place over a couple of days, but so much happens and he grows and changes so much you really see how his circumstances have completely changed him and the course of his entire life. Even if we spend a comparatively short time with Arturo, Sedgwick does a great job of getting you attached to him. I felt completely tensed up as he got deeper and deeper into Faustino’s mess, especially because of the impending sense of doom that lingers throughout the pages. In part this is because of the presence of Santa Muerte, a folk saint that the people in Arturo’s community have come to worship, including Faustino. While Arturo goes in not believing in Santa Muerte, she is in the pages, given her own perspective points and waxing about the human race as a whole. I loved this device, as it was a great way to tie in the global politics to Arturo’s story.
Finally, while I don’t want to spoil anything about this book and the places it goes, I need to address one thing in vaguest terms possible. Remember all those times I’ve said that I hate last minute twists that feel like a cheap way to try and shock the readers one last time? Well, this book did that. But it did it SO WELL that it achieved what those kind of twists are supposed to achieve! When I got to that quick and fleeting passage that changed SO MUCH, I literally gasped out loud and yelled "OH MY GOD!!". Now THAT is how you pull off the end page twist. I salute you, Mr. Sedgwick!
“Saint Death” is a difficult book to read, but I think that it’s a pretty important one. I’m impressed that Sedgwick trusts his YA readers to be able to take on these topics and think critically about them, and hope that more authors follow his lead. Just be sure to steel yourself for something very dark, as important as it may be.
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Mr. Sedgwick at a book signing (and a coffee klatch!), and getting to talk a little bit about the movie “The Wicker Man” with him, as “Midwinterblood” definitely took influence from it (and I’m talking about the original “Wicker Man”, not the one with Nicholas Cage in a bear suit). So now I do my best to read any Marcus Sedgwick books that cross my path. While none have quite lived up to “Midwinterblood”, Sedgwick has become one of my favorite YA authors. And that brings me to his newest YA novel, “Saint Death”. And amazingly, I think it’s his darkest one yet.I will admit that I was a little hesitant to pick this one up when I first heard about it. After all, the subject of life for Mexicans in the border towns, especially Juarez, is a difficult and painful one. American corporate interests and consumption of illegal drugs has led to massive poverty, and lots of gang warfare between various Cartels. So yeah, my teeth got set a little bit on edge when I found out that a British man was going to tell a story set with this backdrop. I’m still not totally certain if I think it’s his story to tell. BUT, that said, I think that Sedgwick did take it on a portray it in a sensitive and responsible way. It’s pretty clear that he did some massive research on his own, and asked for input from those who may be more familiar with the realities of this situation. And besides, “Saint Death” pulls no punches in postulating where some of the blame can be laid for the violence, corruption, and poverty that is seen in Juarez. American corporations exploit NAFTA to profit off of factories across the border that make them richer but barely pay anything to the workers, and the American consumption of illegal drugs fuels the Cartels. Throw in the topics of undocumented immigration and closed borders, as well as some climate change to boot, and you have yourself a very political book that makes it’s readers question how culpable they are through Capitalist ideals and the supposed free market.
But even without the frank and brutal politics, the characters in “Saint Death” really kept me interested and invested. Arturo and Faustino both make terrible decisions in this book, decisions that may have baffled and frustrated me. But at the same time, because of how well written they both were, I not only believed that they would make them, but I also understood exactly why they were making them. Though it’s Faustino whose choice to steal money to save his girlfriend and baby sets our story in motion, it’s ultimately Arturo whose story we follow. His journey to try to get one thousand dollars for his friend is a short one, and only takes place over a couple of days, but so much happens and he grows and changes so much you really see how his circumstances have completely changed him and the course of his entire life. Even if we spend a comparatively short time with Arturo, Sedgwick does a great job of getting you attached to him. I felt completely tensed up as he got deeper and deeper into Faustino’s mess, especially because of the impending sense of doom that lingers throughout the pages. In part this is because of the presence of Santa Muerte, a folk saint that the people in Arturo’s community have come to worship, including Faustino. While Arturo goes in not believing in Santa Muerte, she is in the pages, given her own perspective points and waxing about the human race as a whole. I loved this device, as it was a great way to tie in the global politics to Arturo’s story.
Finally, while I don’t want to spoil anything about this book and the places it goes, I need to address one thing in vaguest terms possible. Remember all those times I’ve said that I hate last minute twists that feel like a cheap way to try and shock the readers one last time? Well, this book did that. But it did it SO WELL that it achieved what those kind of twists are supposed to achieve! When I got to that quick and fleeting passage that changed SO MUCH, I literally gasped out loud and yelled "OH MY GOD!!". Now THAT is how you pull off the end page twist. I salute you, Mr. Sedgwick!
“Saint Death” is a difficult book to read, but I think that it’s a pretty important one. I’m impressed that Sedgwick trusts his YA readers to be able to take on these topics and think critically about them, and hope that more authors follow his lead. Just be sure to steel yourself for something very dark, as important as it may be.
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LibraryThing member colligan
Saint Death is ostensibly a young adult novel. It has short chapters and short sentences. It has lots of (oft times too many) plot twists. The characters are largely young people sorting things out about life. None-the-less, the book is a good read for all ages. The challenges and choices the
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characters face are all too familiar to those who attend to the news. The background on Mexican culture and spirituality is fascinating and engaging. Yet, the message behind the book's painful tale is life affirming. And, the book is an easy, interesting, and quick read. Definitely worth a reader's time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy
Arturo is a teenaged boy scratching out a meager existence in a Mexican border town run and terrorized by drug cartels. His friend Faustino reappears after a year out of contact and asks Arturo for a favor upon which all their fates depend. The rich imagery of religious and spiritual iconography,
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along with the vivid Freudian dreamscapes and the ritual of a card game (calavera) are painted in sharp relief against the barrenness, poverty and tragedy of Anapra in this dark thriller ostensibly written for theteen/YA market; but a bit more sophisticated than the genres usually provides. Show Less
Awards
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2019)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing (Nominee — 2018)
NCSLMA Battle of the Books (High School — 2019)
UKLA Book Award (Shortlist — 2018)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2018)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Top Ten — Fiction — 2017)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016-10-06
Physical description
272 p.; 5.35 inches
ISBN
1444000527 / 9781444000528
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DDC/MDS
| 823.92 |