Seventh-grader Trino Olivares likes video games a lot more than he likes books. In fact, he doesn’t have much use for most “school types.” But when Rosca, an older teen with a vicious streak, invites Trino to start hanging out with his crowd—and maybe make some quick money, too—the younger boy doesn’t know what to think. Trino’s angry that he and his younger stepbrothers are barely getting by, even though their mother works two jobs. And he’d do anything to make an impression on Lisana, a smart neighborhood girl who happens to be one of those “school types.” With little help from any adults, it’s up to Trino to decide which choices will impress his friends—and which choices are the best for Trino.
Popular young-adult author Diane Gonzales Bertrand (Sweet Fifteen) has crafted in Trino’s Choice a dramatic story about the difficult problems that children today face—often with little guidance—and the sometimes deadly consequences that can result.
Selected for inclusion in the Houston Area Independent School Library Network Recommended Reading List for 2000
Named “Best Book of the Year” in the Young Adult Category by ForeWord Magazine
Recipient, 2001 Austin Writer’s League’s Teddy Award for Best Children’s Book
Finalist, 2001 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
Named Best Young Adult Fiction by the Latino Literary Hall of Fame
Named to the Texas Library Association’s 2000-2001 Lone Star Reading List
“This is a dramatic and realistic contemporary novel in the tradition of Frank Bonham’s Durango Street and Walter Deans Myers’ Scorpions.”—Booklist
“Realistic characters and settings…Skillful descriptions…Conversations are genuine…Thirteen-year-old Trino is a welcome addition in a book that deserves a sequel.”—VOYA
“Tough, gritty…will keep readers turning the pages.”—Sacramento [California] Bee
DIANE GONZALES BERTRAND is the author of several books for young adults. They include There’s a Name for This Feeling / Hay un nombre para lo que siento (Piñata Books, 2014), The F Factor (Piñata Books, 2010), Close to the Heart (2002), Trino’s Time (2001), Trino’s Choice (1999), Lessons of the Game (1998), and Sweet Fifteen (1995). A lifelong resident of San Antonio, Bertrand teaches at St. Mary’s University, where she is also Writer in Residence.
Learn more by visiting her faculty page.
ATOS Interest Level: Middle Grades
Category: Young Adult
ATOS English: 4.9
LEXILE: 780L
Accelerated Reader Quiz #: 35007
