Local News

by Gary Soto

Funny, touching, and wholly original, Local News is a "first-rate collection from a perceptive and sensitive chronicler of ordinary life." — The Horn Book (starred review) In thirteen stories full of wit and energy, Gary Soto illuminates the ordinary lives of young people. Whether the kids are battling infestations of squirrels, dancing to romantic music on El Radio, trick-or-treating for one last time, or saving the world by becoming vegetarian. their problems are hilarious and real and as big as only a kid can make them. "The stories show the humor of growing up as well as the anguish." —Booklist Plus don't miss Gary Soto's Baseball in April , a story collection that the Los Angeles Times called "nothing less than remarkable."

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party,” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and his hometown of Fresno.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be some kind of horror book, but it isn't. It's just regular coming of age type short stories. I was disappointed. Probably my fault.

[Miss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:

This book is based on a lot of shorts stories. Most of the stories usually has a character with a conflict that is resolved by the end of the story. They mostly deal with siblings, friends, or parents.

Personal Reaction:

I have written several short stories. What was amazing to me was to see how he can pile and fit so much into a short story and be so successful at it. Although the stories were short, they all still had a point, even some with multidimensional characters, with diverse resolutions

Critical Insight:

The stories deals with mostly issues that minorities face. Eg, low job income, trying to fit into society, trying to learn English (this was evident, especially to see him inject so many Spanish terms in the English text). It was a creative style. And the stories came alive. Also, I saw that it was necessary for him to bring his issues of being an Mexican-American to the forefront.

Suggested Audience;

Most of the characters sound like they are between the ages of 8-16. So I would suggest that age frame

[Jeanette Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the things that i liked about this review was that there was a lot of information about most of the things that the book was about. When i first read about what it was about i thought that it was really wierd because of all the things that happen. The Local News: Stories was one of the types of books that i have never read before. It is a adventure type of book and its really nice.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy these short stories. There are so many little hints to the setting of Fresno and the Bay Area in the 1980s, and each short story could be the center of a mini-lesson on including details to develop a sense of setting.

I don't think I liked any of them more or less than the others. But all of them could be a jumping point for a writing activity - the stories were complete, but the endings all left something unanswered. Each story could be a "what happens next?" prompt.

[Julie Heitland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 13 short stories full of humor. The author writes about some uncanny things that kids might experience. The reader is able to relate to something in each story. Some of the stories have a twist in the plot that is a surprise to the reader. Great stories to use with students.

[Logics · Rating 5 out of 5]

love reading Soto's work! I especially enjoy reading Soto's cuentos because I also grew up in Fresno and there are so many familiar references that harken me back to my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welllll, not impressed

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slice of life. Not bad

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

reading my students required books part 2

[Elizabeth Purvis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Gary Soto, but almost every story in here fell flat for me.

[Oscar Castaneda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Local News by Gary Soto was a good book. I really liked it and I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed reading this book because I got to relate to it a lot at least a little bit for each story. I think this book a lot of younger people can relate to it or adult that went trough some experiences that some characters went trough in some stories in the book. I like how Gary Soto does books with short stories like Baseball in April and this one. I like having short stories so I won’t get bored of just reading about the same thing for 100 or more pages I think that’s boring. A down side of having short stories is that there are so many stories that sometimes you don’t remember or it is hard to remember what happened or the details of the stories or maybe you can remember the details but only the stories you liked. When I was reading the stories I can really see it e used good imagery like in the story Blackmail I can really see Angel chasing Javier for the picture. I can see the setting and the facial expression of the characters. I think the older brother Javier is more like the anster sort of type like the kind everyone is scared to look at because they afraid they might et punched. I think Javier is like tat because I had friends that were the anster type and tats exactly how they acted and how they talked using words like ese o homes. Angel to me seems more like the smart kid tat is afraid to sow is strength or doesn’t like to sow it off but e seems really strong and buff but doesn’t like to sow it off. My favorite character in the story Blackmail is Javier because I like how he acts and I can relate to him because how I use to talk and act before.

Another way I can relate to this book was in the first story Blackmail. I can relate to it because one time me and my brother had my sisters camera and we went to a parade and we took pictures because my mom told us to take pictures for her because she couldn’t go. So my brother was recording me while I was doing some inappropriate things in front of the camera. He didn’t want to erase it because he said he was going to show my mom and I was chasing him around for the camera and I had to give him 10 bucks or else he would show it to my mom. I really recommend this book because I really think you would enjoy reading this book I think its funny and you can relate to it if you’re young or if you’re an adult it might remind you of your child hood.

[Luis Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not bad but not great. Gary Soto has his own way of writing that can be identified within all of his writing. One of the reasons that I didn't enjoy the book that much was because it was various short stories instead of just one big one. I like his use of similes and how he can take real life situations and write them so people can relate to them like when Angel says that his brother "can do whatever he wants" I think that many younger siblings can use this story to connect with their own personal lives. By far this story is the best out of all of them. I can also refer to the First Job story because of his wanting to find a job. I used to be want that but now I don't. I feel that from his more simpler books to his more complicated and longer books Gary Soto has always been able to take you into his stories. As I write this I can really say that there is nothing bad about his writing. I feel that the story that I best relate to is the mechanical mind one because of how I used to think that I had something of a mechanical mind. Another strong point of his writing is that he can use dialogue greatly to his advantage.

The conversations between his characters are real ones that have a genuine feel to them. I think that the worst story there is the the one about the lady and her house. I also did not like that although it is a great technique the ending was ambiguous. I did not really now what to think. I think that many people should read this book. This book has a story that almost anyone can relate to. I believe that Soto writes stories that most people can connect with on a more personal level. His writing style has been seen from kids books to his more complex writing styles. This book I recommend to people who actually read by choice. The book entertains it has comedy, and a deeper meaning if you get into it.

[Timothy Robledo]

I really didn't like this book that much. I am usually a Gary Soto fan but this is not his best work. I personally thought that this book had stories with no appropriate ending. The stories would lead you on as if it was going to be a big good climax but in the end it wasn't. Also i thought that the stories had no point to them. I know that they are made up but they could have been better. One story this girl goes trick or treating when she is 12 and her friends don't know and at the end she goes to a party. I really didn't think that made for a good story. I really couldn't get into this book although i read it all the way through. My favorite book from Gary Soto is Buried Onions. It is about a poor boy living in Fresno, California and trying to get by and not get caught up in the gang life. I thought that story was well thought out and planned better than ''Local News Stories''. It was also about something real. Gary Soto has written many memorable books that are classics and that people love and remember. This was not on of mine. I would not recommend this book. Although that is just my personal opinion. Other people might like this book better than i did. I would however recommend this book to people who don't like to read long novels and just like short stories. A lot of people say that they like this book but i just cant seem to agree with them. I have read this book two times already and i can't seem to like it anymore than i did in the past.

[iram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade/Interest Level – Middle School
Reading Level: 820 L Lexile
Genre: Realistic Fiction & Multicultural
Main Characters: Varies from story to story
Setting: Central Valley, California (urban setting)
POV: Narrator
Rating: 5 stars

This book is a collection of short stories about Mexican American youth living in California. Each story depicts the everyday lives of its characters and focuses around issues pertaining to teens, including friendship, peer pressure, school, and other problems teenagers face. One story in particular, Push – Up, tells the story of a girl named Carmen who discovers a helpless cat in her neighborhood that she names Push – Up because he is colored white and orange like the ice cream. Her other pet cat, Tommy, always attacks poor defenseless Push – Up, so in an attempt to protect her, Carmen sneaks Push – Up in to school! Carmen’s best friend Cecilia knows what she is doing and starts to ignore Carmen so she can avoid getting into trouble. After seeing how hurt and worried Carmen is, Cecilia recognizes that their friendship is more important than getting in trouble so she jumps over the fence and crosses the street while at school when Push – Up escapes from Carmen’s bag. The story is a really good demonstration of how true friendship overcomes all obstacles and I would use it in the classroom for community building between classmates.

[Edwin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local News was a great book. It is a book with a lot of short stories in it. The author Gary Soto uses great imagery in all the short stories. His writing style is also very unique. It is in english but he slides a couple of spanish words. I could relate to this because I sometimes talk like this. My favorite short story was "Candit Camera". It was about a teenager and his older brother always picking on him. Angel was the teenager and Weasel was his older brother. At the beginning of the story Weasel was making his brothers life a living hell.By the end of the story they made up and were closer than ever.

I really liked this book. I gave it four stars because it had great imagery and tone. I could also relate to some of the stories. Like when alma stopped a kid from bag snattching in halloween. I remmber when they cought me. I also liked this book because it is for people my age. What I really liked is how Gary Soto ueses imagery. I might use what I learned about him to improve on my writting skills. Overall this is a great book.

[Madison Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local News is another set of short stories written about the daily lives and struggles of Latino teenagers. This contains exactly 13 short stories. In this book, Soto has a main emphasis of making sure the reader knows that these kids are not very different from anyone else, and he does so in a light and fun way. I believe this is a funny and very original book of short stories that anyone could relate to. I laughed a lot while reading this and that is one thing I love about humorous books is that it can make you laugh. Soto does an excellent job at using imagery for each of the short stories. I was very impressed at how much Soto could compile into not only one short story but thirteen of them! One similarity I did notice between all of the stories was that most of them dealt with issues and dilemmas between family members, siblings, and parents.

[Jessa]

Best stories from the collection are: Nickel-a-Pound Plane Ride (a girl who is dying to experience flying, dad agrees to take her, and she doesn't quite get the experience she counted on) and The Mechanical Mind (a young boy begins to believe he has a talent for fixing all things mechanical, but can't quite make good on that evaluation of himself!).

El Radio - good story about family being all you need (relationships matter more than material)

The Challenge - good story about not biting off more than you can chew just to impress someone

Nacho Loco - becoming a vegetarian for under-developed reasons

The Raider's Jacket - compare and contrast this with "The Necklace"

[Itzamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book. It has different stories, and i do agree some stories are better than others. My favorite so far it's ''Candid Camera''. I already finished this book. I can relate to it a lot because the author Gary Soto relates the stories of children of different ages and teenagers living in Fresno, California. I love the way Gary Soto incorporates spanish words to make the writing more interesting and without the author saying it i can predict that most of the characters in the stories are hispanic.

[faith(: · Rating 4 out of 5]

i personally like this book. this book i highly recommend it to very humorous people who loves to laugh or that are just into humorous book such as this one here. its not just a humorous book it is also very informative. like i said i would definitely recomend this book to someone who is interested in these kind of topics. this is also an amazing authour of this book so people should totally read this book you guys wont regret this book its very amazing book. he is very creative , and you guys should also read his other books their amazing!

[Sofia]

I just finished reading this book and it was adorable. It actually wasn't that bad. I enjoed the fact that it had a bunch of small stories dealing with the same characters. It showed how the characters deal with different situations. It was literally news that was happening to teenagers in a local community.

[Guadalupe Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

my review of this book is that there are diffrent people of there child hood. I am at page 94 and this story is called nacho loco and it about a girl that is vegetarian. I have a friend that is vegetarian . Juan is just like my sister he is funny, annoying. and always winning thats how my sister karen is and expt she is in 8 grade and he is in 5 grade that is the diffrence.

[Ashley B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a horrible book about young kids who get into all sorts of trouble and most of the short stories end in a depressing way. I'd suggest that before reading this book you seriously think about all the other things you could be doing (for example eating dirt or jumping off a bridge).

[Zannatul Orin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary Soto describes every single situations with many details as possible so we as reader can envision what is happening. Soto uses dialogue that can be even more important when we are envisioning. All his details in the short stories are in order.

[Gladis Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is a good book for people that like to read books with many different stories. This book is interesting. I like how once you finish the chapter there's another different story from the one you just read.

[Kim]

fuuny, nice, fun and great. a realistic book about kids

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, disjointed and with no shining gems. I will not read it again, nor will suggest that anyone else read it.

[Rosalina Sarmiento · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book i can relate to alot!

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really dont like the books that they choose for us to read in class. they are so boring. serioulsy.

[Kelsie Gause · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting stories.

[Benny Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is pretty good because of the funny story, there is that funny story and a mean story. Its that his brother took a picture of him naked and asked for 20 bucks.