Air Down Here

by Gil C. Alicea

A sixteen-year-old Puerto Rican-American boy presents intelligent reflections on inner-city life

Genres: Young Adult

134 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Rossiany Barbosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finish read this book I like this book so much it is interesting to reading is about good news and bad news also.I love reading this kind of book. Alicea is the character of this book he had hard time live in his neighborhood.

[Amanda B.]

This was such a good book. i am a fanatic of reading books from people who did not or do not live the same life i do. i find excitement in stories that differ because it helps me appriciate what i have and understand others. i found it inruiging that this book was written by a 9 year old hispanic boy who grew up in South Bronx. i thought that this would be a silly book but it turned out to be really good. he talks about his mother's sickness, the South Bronx as a whole and school. For a kid who is 9 years old, i feel he is very well spoken. he talks about topics like drugs and aspirations which i dont expect a 9 year old kid to be talking about those topics. he writes about how his life is, how he struggles and he does this through a series of mini stories. some of his stories are also accompanied by black and white photos whih enhance the meanings of his stories.

I feel that i couldn't relate to much of his life, but i do sympathize with him. i can relate to his realization about looking at people differently and how to act in a certain situation. other than that, the loss of his mother is really touching. and this was just a great book because it showed his growth over the course of writing his first book. i think that he is a very well spoken young kid and if he continues to write, he will have very good stories to tell.