What do you think?
Rate this book
The Confessional
Mexican guy. White guy. Classmates and enemies from across the border and on each other's turf. Big fight. White guy wins. Next day, he's dead. Everyone's a suspect. Everyone's guilty of something.
Does what you look like or where you come from finally determine where your loyalties lie? Who's Us? Who's Them? Which side is your side? Is it Truth?
Contemporary politics, the consequences of guys-being-guys, and questions about faith and personal responsibility pulse throughout the pages of this provocative, eloquent debut.
Does what you look like or where you come from finally determine where your loyalties lie? Who's Us? Who's Them? Which side is your side? Is it Truth?
Contemporary politics, the consequences of guys-being-guys, and questions about faith and personal responsibility pulse throughout the pages of this provocative, eloquent debut.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2007
5 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Powers
14 books55 followersThe daughter of a geologist and a journalist, J.L. Powers spent much of her childhood camping and searching for fossils in the American West, and considers herself a true “desert rat.” She grew up on the U.S.-Mexico Border in El Paso, Texas.
She’s taught African history and freshman composition, research and argument, creative writing, and literature at the University of Texas at El Paso, Stanford University, and Skyline College. Jessica is semi-proficient in three languages–Spanish, Portuguese, and Zulu–and now sometimes answers in Zulu when spoken to in Spanish. Though she now lives in California, where she just finished a Master’s Degree in African History at Stanford University, she will always consider El Paso, Texas “home.”
She is the author of one picture book (Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza); 3 novels for young adults (Amina; This Thing Called the Future; and The Confessional); editor of two collections of essays (That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone; and Labor Pains and Birth Stories: Essays on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Becoming a Parent); and author of one non-fiction hiking guide (A Bark in the Park: The 52 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog in the El Paso/Las Cruces region).
She’s taught African history and freshman composition, research and argument, creative writing, and literature at the University of Texas at El Paso, Stanford University, and Skyline College. Jessica is semi-proficient in three languages–Spanish, Portuguese, and Zulu–and now sometimes answers in Zulu when spoken to in Spanish. Though she now lives in California, where she just finished a Master’s Degree in African History at Stanford University, she will always consider El Paso, Texas “home.”
She is the author of one picture book (Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza); 3 novels for young adults (Amina; This Thing Called the Future; and The Confessional); editor of two collections of essays (That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone; and Labor Pains and Birth Stories: Essays on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Becoming a Parent); and author of one non-fiction hiking guide (A Bark in the Park: The 52 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog in the El Paso/Las Cruces region).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 4, 2021
3.5 stars....taking 1/2 star away because the book is told in 6 different first person accounts. I had a hard time keeping the different teenage boys straight, not to mention their friends. Other that that, this was a good read. I feel it’s very relevant to the race problems we face today.
I wish with my whole heart that people of different races would see that we are all equal, that one race is no better than the other, and we should stop stereotyping!
I wish with my whole heart that people of different races would see that we are all equal, that one race is no better than the other, and we should stop stereotyping!
November 6, 2011
I am conflicted about my vote on this one. The topic is timely, pertinent, important and critical for talking about race relations and prejudice. The writing is good, and Powers pulled off the shifting first person narrations well. I really liked Powers' technique of narrating the same scene from different points of view with added dialogue that the previous narrator didn't include. (don't we all remember the same event or sequence slightly differently?)
I didn't find the background on Jim Hill convincing and questioned his remaining friendships among characters that I didn't believe would still be friends with him.
I also didn't find scenes or dialogue sticking with me the way some of the other books have. I think it is valuable and belongs in public library collections, but I am leaning toward a NAY on this one. (KDL)
http://thumbsupaward.blogspot.com/sea...
I didn't find the background on Jim Hill convincing and questioned his remaining friendships among characters that I didn't believe would still be friends with him.
I also didn't find scenes or dialogue sticking with me the way some of the other books have. I think it is valuable and belongs in public library collections, but I am leaning toward a NAY on this one. (KDL)
http://thumbsupaward.blogspot.com/sea...
September 30, 2019
This book is so important for so many reasons. For starters, racism is real and it exists even amongst teens. This book reminded me of The Outsiders, but the Latino version. I was impressed with the many voices of the novel and how each voice e was able to captivate me in a different way. I was especially keen to Daniel Tucker and Isaiah. These two characters took me through their strifes and triumphs. I recommend this book wholeheartedly because it’s important to know that this goes on. It’s important.
October 29, 2024
Take a murder mystery story, add some racism in a Texas border town, and you've got the makings of a great story.
May 4, 2008
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all-male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border.
After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day.
Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the Cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it's all over?
This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It's an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don't worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in its glaring realism.
THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all-male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border.
After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day.
Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the Cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it's all over?
This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It's an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don't worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in its glaring realism.
June 30, 2010
THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border. After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day. Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it’s all over?
This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It’s an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don’t worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in it’s glaring realism. I give it five stars.
This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It’s an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don’t worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in it’s glaring realism. I give it five stars.
November 26, 2012
This debut, The Confessional, is a very powerfully novel by J.L. Powers. The book combines themes like illegal immigration, school violence, racial tension and all of that happening in a town set on the American-Mexican boarder and in a Jesuits school for boys.
Boys being teenage boys get into fights, they swear heavily in the book, but most of them have some deep thoughts regarding religion too. The story is told from a perspective of 6 boys somehow involved into a suicide of one of the most vocal boys in the discussion religion/politics/racism – but this is not a usual “who done it” story. I found this book so interesting I could not put it away. The language was very natural – but the amount of rude words made me thinking “do young men in a religious school really swear that much?”… I learnt a lot about the tension and issues especially related to immigration, human exploitation, politics and religion in that region of the world.
This book definitely breaks with old ways portraying religion and the society. There is nothing nice in this book – it is dark, gritty, violent, brutal, racist – but yet it leaves a mark on the reader and made me searching for more information about the issues presented in the novel.
I would recommend this book to teenagers but with an advise of discussing it with somebody else to reveal the deeper truths about our modern societies.
Boys being teenage boys get into fights, they swear heavily in the book, but most of them have some deep thoughts regarding religion too. The story is told from a perspective of 6 boys somehow involved into a suicide of one of the most vocal boys in the discussion religion/politics/racism – but this is not a usual “who done it” story. I found this book so interesting I could not put it away. The language was very natural – but the amount of rude words made me thinking “do young men in a religious school really swear that much?”… I learnt a lot about the tension and issues especially related to immigration, human exploitation, politics and religion in that region of the world.
This book definitely breaks with old ways portraying religion and the society. There is nothing nice in this book – it is dark, gritty, violent, brutal, racist – but yet it leaves a mark on the reader and made me searching for more information about the issues presented in the novel.
I would recommend this book to teenagers but with an advise of discussing it with somebody else to reveal the deeper truths about our modern societies.
June 27, 2014
I met the author at Author Day at the San Mateo County Fair's Literary Arts Galleria. I was interested in reading this book, which I guess could be characterized as a gritty YA mystery, because she tells the story through seven first-person characters. I wanted to see how she did it, since I've gotten feedback on my as-yet-unpublished novel that my six first-person characters were "too much."
Powers pulls it off, though not without the help of chapter headings that tell you which character is speaking--quite an understandable and useful prompt.
Beyond that, she has done a great job of literally getting inside the heads of a group of teen boys in a Texas border town struggling to come to terms with--and find the perpetrator of--a murder of one of their own. The book definitely kept me reading, and I felt as if it gave me a view into a world I know nothing about (Powers grew up on the Texas/Mexico border.) The dialogue and character interactions seem to ring true and she kept me guessing until about 3/4 of the way through about who the murderer was (by then I had strong suspicions).
Some of the boys grew and changed more than others, and I definitely felt more drawn to some. Because of the subject matter, it's hard to call this an enjoyable book, but it was definitely satisfying.
Powers pulls it off, though not without the help of chapter headings that tell you which character is speaking--quite an understandable and useful prompt.
Beyond that, she has done a great job of literally getting inside the heads of a group of teen boys in a Texas border town struggling to come to terms with--and find the perpetrator of--a murder of one of their own. The book definitely kept me reading, and I felt as if it gave me a view into a world I know nothing about (Powers grew up on the Texas/Mexico border.) The dialogue and character interactions seem to ring true and she kept me guessing until about 3/4 of the way through about who the murderer was (by then I had strong suspicions).
Some of the boys grew and changed more than others, and I definitely felt more drawn to some. Because of the subject matter, it's hard to call this an enjoyable book, but it was definitely satisfying.
May 14, 2013
I liked this book; I cannot say I loved it. This book was well written. It was clear. And I got the theme of the book right away. Although I personally did not really get to 'know' the characters. I was always lost on who did what and who was who. Other than that I think this book was good. Not great, but good. I think that if you'd like to read somewhere out of your comfort zone, this might be a good book to start with. If you like somewhat of a mystery, tension and would like to laugh a bit, you are more than welcome to pick up this book at your local library.
February 4, 2016
The topics this book covers (racism, immigrant rights, school violence, terrorism) are timely. The events stemming from Mac's severe beating of Bernie, a Mexican student at a Jesuit boys' school, are viewed through the eyes of seven boys. There is roiling tension in the narrative but at times the voices aren't distinct enough other than gay but closeted Dan Tucker. Teen boys will appreciate the story's testosterone level. Lib notes: raw language, drug use, sexual situations, violent thoughts & actions.
March 11, 2009
Really great book about border life. J.L. Powers takes a gritty, realistic look at life on the border and the struggles with race, class, wealth, and all the complexitites of being a teen. Great read, and I so wasn't expecting the ending!
March 30, 2014
The story opens with a murder and proceeds to tell the story of what happened from a variety of perspectives of teens who attend a racially diverse high school on the border of the US and Mexico. Racial politics and serious teen issues underlie an intriguing mystery.
September 30, 2009
The confessional is a great book. i think it realy caught my eye because i like how the author showed each and every perspective on every charaters view. even though im not a big reader this book made me appreciate reading.
March 17, 2013
A mysterious and intriguing mix of complex thoughts about equality, racism, and murder. Somehow fast paced and unpredictable. I read it in less than a day, and liked it, no less. I'd recommend it to all, if I could. [3.5 Stars]
December 18, 2007
A friend of mine wrote this, and I enjoyed it immensely! Good high school mystery, and an easy read :)
July 17, 2010
THIS BOOK WAS INTERESING. YOU SHOULD NEVER LIE BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS BAD!
July 3, 2011
Excellent novel. A mystery told from several different perspectives.
March 23, 2012
I am giving this a 4 star rating rather than a 5 only because it had soo many curse words!
Read
November 4, 2012Very interesting. Couldn't put the book down. I like how Powers wrote it in a teen kind of language so it could sound more interesting.
November 3, 2009
If you like good read about murder you'll love this book.
March 14, 2010
I give it 3 stars, my students give it 5 stars, so I split the difference. It is a page turner.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews