Buried Onions by Gary Soto

Soto, Gary. 1997. Buried Onions. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 9780152013332.

Summary
Buried Onions is the story of Eddie, a Mexican American teenager living in Fresno, California. Eddie's father, uncles and cousin Jesus have all died and Eddie is trying avoid the violence that killed them. "I never ran with gangs, never kicked it with weasel-necked vatos locos, but you had to be careful, quick as a rabbit. Once a dude pointed you out in a 7-Eleven parking lot or some filthy gas station, there was no mercy, no time to explain that you were a father or a good son or an alter boy with combed hair (Soto 1997 p. 6)." Eddie has dropped out of community college and is working painting addresses on curbs while he tries to figure out how to escape the cycle of violence and poverty.

Analysis
There are Spanish words throughout the story. Many of the words are recognizable to non Spanish speakers such as the kinship terms like Mama and abuelo, or food words like tortillas. The words that are unfamiliar are words that could be described as slang terms like cholo (gang boy) or gavacho (white person). These Spanish words are not translated but the readers should be able to figure out most of the words through context. There is also a glossary in the back. The use of Spanish adds authenticity to the story because they are used accurately and naturally. The reader believes that Eddie is from a bilingual background and these words are simply part of his regular vocabulary.

One character in the story, Mr. Styles is a white man. Eddie begins doing odd jobs for him and looks to Mr. Styles as a way to a better job and future. ""Mr. Styles," I mumbled to myself and prayed. "My dear Savior Mr. Styles, please come through." (Soto 1997 p. 19)." At first reading this could be construed as a white man swooping to save the Latino character, but Mr. Soto avoids that stereotype because Mr. Styles doesn't solve Eddie's problems or remove him from poverty. In fact, Eddie's involvement with Mr. Styles leads to more problems when his truck is stolen from Eddie.

The title of the story, Buried Onions, refers to a giant onion Eddie imagines is buried in the ground. "This onion made us cry. Tears leapt from our eyelashes and stained our faces. Babies in strollers pinched up their faces and wailed for no reason. Perhaps as practice for the coming years. I though about the giant onion, that remarkable bulb of sadness (Soto 1997, p. 2)." Exactly what the onion represents is open to interpretation, but I think it is poverty. Although this story is told through the eyes of a Latino character, the main theme is escaping poverty. Many of Eddie's experiences could be happen to anyone living in a poor neighborhood. Everyday poor people are marginalized, no matter their ethnic group. Across the world poor people join gangs to fit in with a group and have people they can count on. And Eddie's solution to escape poverty by joining the military is a common one. According to the Washington Post more military recruits come from poor households, "Many of today's recruits are financially strapped, with nearly half coming from lower-middle-class to poor households, according to new Pentagon data based on Zip codes and census estimates of mean household income (www.washingotnpost.com)." So while Eddie's story is powerful and moving, it is not a stereotypical Mexican-American story, but rather a commentary on a poor Mexican American desperately trying to overcome poverty.

Connections
This book could be part of an author study about Gary Soto.
Kids could read this book to learn about personal choices and overcoming circumstances.
This book could be paired with Snitch by Allison Van Diepen or It Doesn't Have to be this Way: A Barrio Story by Luis Rodriguez.

Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly says, "This bleak, claustrophobic novel perfectly captures the cyclical despair of Eddie, a 19-year-old Hispanic teen in depressed Fresno, Calif. Every time he tried to improve his life -- painting house numbers on curbs on the rich side of town, planting trees or doing odd jobs--his efforts are crushed. " The review goes on to say, "Although it is a realistic antidote to simplistic advice that tells kids to pull themselves up by their boot straps, this novel offers little hope and may shake up teens who haven't yet had to venture past curbs of their own suburban neighborhoods."

In School Library Journal Mary Hopf says, "Soto's writing is apt; he provides readers with strong images through the eyes and voice of Eddie. The young man frequently describes his surroundings, "I returned to my apartment, which was in a part of Fresno where fences sagged and the paint blistered on houses....Laundry wept from the lines, the faded flags of poor, ignorant, unemployable people." Additionally, the author stirs more senses with his descriptions of smells and sounds. The only drawback to the story is that it is somewhat repetitious. Characters are introduced then reenter the story with repeated delineation. Still, Soto's descriptions are poetic, and he creates deep feelings of heat and despair. A powerful and thought-provoking read."

Works Cited
Devereaux, Elizabeth, and Iane Roback. 1997. "Forecasts: Children's Books." Publishers Weekly 244, no. 32: 75. Academic Search Complete database (accessed July 10, 2009).

Hopf, Mary M. 1998. "Grades 5 & up: Fiction." School Library Journal 44, no. 1: 114. Academic Search Complete database (accessed July 10, 2009).

Soto, Gary. 1997. Buried Onions. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.

Tyson, Ann Scott. 2005. Youths in Rural US are Drawn to Military: Recruits' Job Worries Outweigh Fears. Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110302528.html (accessed July 10, 2009).