The Wild Ones by Antonio Ramos Revillas

Translated by Claire Storey

Book Summary

An impactful story about the heroism of surviving on the social periphery.

Fifteen-year-old Efraín and his two younger brothers live in a house on the hillside in Monterrey, Northern Mexico.

They are left to fend for themselves after their mother is wrongly arrested for theft.

Má has raised her boys to keep out of trouble with the local gangs and to study for their future, but they are viewed by society as good-for-nothings or criminals simply because of where they live.

The only people offering any kind of support are the local gang members – but everything comes

with a price tag.

This is quite an easy read, despite the difficult subject matter, and though it looks middle-grade from the cover, the main character was older than I expected so I'd put it more at young adult.

It was a bit too slow going for me, not a lot really happens. But there was a good lesson about how much stuff we have around us that we really don't need. I don't think I'm rich, but Efrain would probably have considered me quite well off! Reading about what Efrain went through to support his family and the things he had to do, I felt quite emotional at times.

Author Bio

Antonio Ramos Revillas is a Mexican author of books for adults and your people.

In 2015 he was selected to participate in the Mexico 20 project by the Hay Festival. The project brought together twenty Mexican writers under the age of forty and paired them with British translators, resulting in

the Mexico 20 anthology, published by Pushkin Press.

Antonio has received numerous regional and national awards for his writing.

On an international level his novel La guarida de las lechuzas won the Fundacion Cuatrogatos prize in Miami as well as winning the International Latino Book Award.

His YA books have been recommended by IBBY Mexico, Salvajes is his third book to be chosen for the White Ravens.

This was the first time I've made a Wild Rose Margarita and I was surprised how well all the different ingredients fit together.  Shake the following ingredients with ice - 45ml tequila, 15ml triple sec, 25ml Savoia Americano Rosso (I substituted with aperol) 10ml rose sugar syrup, 15ml lime juice, 7.5ml gin. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy!