Facts of Life: Stories

by Gary Soto

What do Gaby Lopez, Michael Robles, and Cynthia Rodriguez have in common? These three kids join other teens and tweens in Gary Soto's new short story collection, in which the hard-knock facts of growing up are captured with humor and poignance.
Filled with annoying siblings, difficult parents, and first loves, these stories are a masterful reminder of why adolescence is one of the most frustrating and fascinating times of life.

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

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Katie Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katie Young
Short Stories

This book is a collection of ten short stories which tell different life stories of Hispanic young adults. Some of the stories are heartbreaking while others are light hearted and optimistic. All of the stories include a Hispanic young adult who tells their story and allows the reader a snapshot into their life. Some story lines include a boy helping a thief steal a TV without knowing it, a young girl finding out she is illegally in the US, learning how to deal with bullying, finding beauty when surrounded by poverty, learning lessons from elders, experiencing a night with a terrible babysitter, and a young man who is forced by his parents to choose who to live with when they divorce.

The language is straightforward and pleasantly descriptive. Some stories include Spanish so there is a glossary of Spanish terms and phrases in the back. It is suitable for any young adults but may be appreciated more by the younger young adult readers.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facts of Life: Stories by Gary Soto is a collection of short works focusing on young Latino characters. Each story gives us a glimpse into what their life is like: one accidentally helping a thief, another tries not to panic when she discovers how terrible her babysitter is, another girl gets jealous when another girl with the same name steals her spotlight, or a nephew having to help his crazy Uncle earn quick cash, etc. Soto's writing provides a nice, believable voice of young teenagers learning to grow up from the situations they are in and provides nice details in the description of said situations. However, there are moments where things can fall flat despite such descriptive wording. The stories themselves are not bad, but writing does feel choppy at times in their presentation. Regardless, much of the stories on here present characters with dreams and goals, and that sometimes, making them come true requires having to take chances with some of the harsher challenges life puts at you.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories. Each story is narrated by a young Latina and offers a snapshot into their life. Some of the stories tell of a major life event (finding out they were born illegally) while others deal with daily adolescent traumas (feeling as if you don't fit into your family). This book would fit in nicely to any middle or high school unit that deals with examining lives. None of the stories are sugar-coated or overly done. In most, the narrator is better able to articulate their internal thoughts and feeling better than the average teenager but the content is real enough to pull most kids in.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found these stories about teens to be a bit choppy and not very engaging. The story I liked most was called "Identity Theft" about Ana Hernandez. When a new girl named Ana Hernandez moves to her school, she feels like her identity has been stolen.

[Borax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collections are always fun to see their inter-connectedness (even if it is only coming from my desire to want that to be so). Here we go, with FACTS OF LIFE.

1) WHERE DID I GO WRONG?: This story is much like the last story (D IN ENGLISH) in that you have a character crashing about the neighborhood...going from situation to situation...living moment to moment...you see the Mickey cajoled into helping local kid only to find out he is aiding in a theft...this is juxtaposed against Mickey being given more adult responsibilities by his father, though it almost kills the man (this is one of the thematic threads...moving into a more responsible role in life) Mickey wants to make music but doesn't know how to play. The story is a bit all over the place...but overhanging is the dread of being caught...being kept from moving forward...for reasons not entirely your fault

2) CAPTURING THE MOMENT: Instead of being duped into crime, here our protagonist (Gaby) is frustrated in her efforts to move forward by the educational system...specifically a teacher who has put Gaby into a category in her brain...Gaby, who wants to be an artist, paints a idyllic scene that appeared on her property following a great storm...there was a lake formed...and birds came...Gaby drew it...and took it to school for praise...only to be told she was a liar...this is not unlike another girl later in the series (THE IDEAL CITY) who is ridiculed when she presents to her classmates her version of a perfect society...and her teacher largely lets the class run over her and then the teacher "shakes her head" when that character stays in the classroom and presents to an empty room. The way in which the education system here isolates girls specifically is strong.

3) IDENTITY THEFT: Here is another girl...the story is a bit of a toss off...Ana learns perspective when she is at once (a) threatened by a new girl who has her same first and last name (b) moves to Escondido and (c) becomes a new girl with the same first and last name of another girl. Soto gets bonus for mentioning Chula Vista and Escondido (areas close to my own house in Scripps Ranch)...and maybe...if you take in the other female stories...you see the blanding of women as a theme. Identity. This blanding also takes shape in CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

4) YOU DECIDE: A young boy must choose which parent he will live with...he ultimately decides to take his dog and find a better family...I have a feeling this won't end well. The cleaving away from parents is a strong theme here (seen in WHERE DID I GO WRONG, THE BABYSITTER, and D IN ENGLISH)...so is the beauty of nature / the comfort we get from the natural world (seen in CAPTURING THE MOMENT, YOU DECIDE, CITIZEN OF THE WORLD)

5) THE BABYSITTER: While mom's away, a terrible babysitter comes in and takes away innocence (innocently...we are talking cuts, bumps, bruises, hair dye that won't come out, etc... nothing jarring). This, I'm assuming, is a counterpoint to YOU DECIDE. The girl in the story is troubled at the end mainly because she is having trouble differentiating between the madness that the girl brings to the house, and the way her own mother was prettied up for her night out...loss of innocence...drinking coffee at the end...the blanding of women

6) CITIZEN OF THE WORLD: Despite worldly experiences, our female protagonist is experiencing an existential crisis...by being connected to so much...she is disconnecting from any specific thing. This runs a bit contrary to my own experiences in San Diego, working with Latino youth...there is a very very specific sense of place...but these kids that I know haven't traveled.

7) WISE UNCLE JOE: back to a male protagonist...Uncle Joe is "wise" because he knows how to con people. Loss of innocence central here as the protagonist learns to let go of his horror for lying to people in order to sell "weeds" (wreaths). Loss of innocence...loss of identity.

8) SEEING THE FUTURE: This is a positive story for a change, as a young girl in love with a user of a boyfriend, sees a couple that could be them in 5 years...and immediately dumps the chump to make a better life for herself! Yay!

9) IDEAL CITY: The female protagonist is bullied like crazy and hides within herself, creating an idyllic world without fear and competition. No one cares. Very sad. Soto likes to put out bullies that go unchecked...and learning to live through bullies. I don't really care for that...I think we have worked hard in schools to give kids a voice. Soto needs to, perhaps, let go of his own experiences from the 60s and 70s and see that things might be a little different in today's society. Yes, bullying continues...but it isn't a rite of passage

10) D IN ENGLISH: The male protagonist stumbles through a bunch of avoidance techniques (literally laying low three times in the story) and seeing himself replaced as a son...only to rise up...and see people who are kind...and trying to make a better world.

Overall...Soto might be trying to say

- we all have dreams

- people will use them to extort you

- people will see your dreams as weakness and target you

- your dreams will require a loss of self (giving up who you thought you were)

- your dreams will require you to take chances and stand up

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a good book.

[Emely Rojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the development in the stories was not cohesive : ( it was really confusing and the stories just didn't flow well : (

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of mostly unremarkable short stories, supposedly all featuring young people with Latino backgrounds.

Notes on certain stories:

"Where Did I Go Wrong? -- the story does not quite go anywhere. It has a slight sinister and odd tone but did not become developed. One never is sure whether Raul really is a thief or a devil in disguise. Or, is he someone who comes to remind the boy of the good things in life -- even if they seemed mundane and for granted?
Capturing the Moment -- It seems to be full of meaning and potential hope... but it ends with such despair: ""What right did a pair of egrets have to settle in her yard briefly, tease her with beauty and hope, and then fly away?"" <-- why does this story exist???

"Identity Theft" -- Interesting -- this one at least feels like a true ""short story"" with a twisty ending. But, what's the point? The twisted ending of Ana being the new new Ana does not carry enough weight to warrant a repeat reading.

"You Decide" -- another story with a somewhat down-ward ending. Hector is leaving his parents who no longer care for him and he no longer cares for them. And the solution? Running with a stray dog!

"The Babysitter" -- what an odd story with a very odd ending when the girl decides to drink coffee and act like grown-ups! Hmm... it's almost like a cautionary tale for adults and not a story for children.

"Citizen of the World" -- a nice piece, at least with a hopeful and upbeat ending, even though there is really not much ""story"" to speak of... just a straight portrait of an illegal immigrants family.

"Wise Uncle Joe" -- it's amusing enough -- but another ""huh?"" kind of story.

"Seeing the Future" -- it's way too didactic and too obvious about the girl who sees how her boyfriend will not turn out to be good for her. What a sensible young lady! (but what a bore of a tale!)

"The Ideal City" -- what's the POINT? That this girl who is idealistic can only talk to rows of chairs and desks at the end because no humans will listen or respect her? Not even her teachers? This one is at least interesting in its destitute attitude.

"D in English" -- again, another non-story with a too-obvious message delivered didactically.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

FACTS OF LIFE is a collection of short stories presenting a variety of adolescent views on growing up. Moving from childhood to adulthood is a completely unique experience, special to each individual. Gary Soto takes readers into the minds of ten teens and pre-teens and a defining moment in each of their lives.

There is Lisa Torres, who suddenly realizes what her world of poverty really looks like to others. She learns that her personal fascination and appreciation of nature and the works of John Audubon may not be shared by those around her.

Ana Hernandez finds her world turned upside down when another Ana Hernandez appears at her school. The new Ana is admired and worshipped, while the old Ana is lost in the crowd. She learns about the importance of popularity the hard way, by losing it.

In other stories from the collection, readers will meet Hector, who must suddenly decide which of his divorcing parents' homes he will call his own. Rachael experiences the "wild side" when a new babysitter shows even less maturity and responsibility than Rachael's little seven-year-old brother. In "Citizen of the World," Laurita is exposed to the controversy of the illegal immigrant situation, and in "D in English" Ryan realizes it is time to take the world around him more seriously and become a young man instead of a little child.

Together, these stories merge to form a touching and honest look at what it means to take the giant step toward being an adult. The confusion, the disappointment, and the challenge of taking this step are evident as Gary Soto masterfully creates his characters and their true-to-life experiences.

[Jeff_§of2014]

This book is a collection of stories of kids in their teenage lives, they face many problems almost everyone had went through. The story that stood out to me was the story about Mickey Cortez. In this story he had just finished a baseball game, with him making the losing strike, he was really depressed from that so he went to take a walk, on his walk he met a man who needed help. His name was Raul and he offered Mickey 30 dollars to help him move things from his house and being a teenager with no job, he accepted the offer. On the way there in Raul's car, Mickey noticed a bunch of cell phones underneath the car seat and he saw an id with the name Carlos on it. This made Mickey think Raul was a thief, but he did not want to jump to conclusions just yet. When they arrived, Raul took Mickey to the backdoor and they moved the TV and the furniture to the front yard without any problem. Just when Mickey was going to leave Raul to help him unload the things too, by now Mickey was scared so he ran away and he happend to be near his aunt's. But, on his way there he had saw the police rushing towards Raul's direction, so Mickey was relieved he had left at just the right time.
I can connect this book to myself because if someone asks for a favor I see how their personality is. But, this is not only myself, many people look at the personality and the appearance of the person to see if they will trust them or not, and the people who do not make that first good impression are going to have a hard time finding helpers.
I rate this book 2 stars because most of the other stories were very boring and common. Most of them was just like Mickey Cortez, not knowing who to trust and trying to get by in school.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Facts of Life by Gary Soto presents ten short stories featuring characters of Hispanic background. I was not impressed by the first story, “Where Did I Go Wrong?” Basically, Mickey while is helping a young man move things out of a house he realizes he is actually helping him steal. Later, when he gets home he imagines the man coming to his house and asking him to help steal his own plasma TV. He decides he is glad his dad never bought the plasma TV that he had begged for. “Identity Theft” sounded interesting, but turns out it was about a new girl in school who just happens to the same name as Ana Hernandez. The old Ana is jealous when everyone seems likes the new Ana better. The old Ana receives news that her family s moving and she is excited she will have a new start in a new school. Just her luck, the new school also has an Ana Hernandez, but she feels elated that she is now the new Ana. My favorite is “Citizen of the World.” Young Laurita deals with identity issues. She discovers she was not born in the U.S. and fears she will be taken away by immigration officials. Even at her young age, she is able to recognize the contradictory views on illegal immigration. Although the stories in The Facts of Life lack any real plot, they address important issues to reflect upon, and give young adults a chance to consider what is right and wrong. This book seems to be geared towards younger teens ages 12-14. I appreciate that translations can be found in the back of the book since several Spanish words and phrases are used throughout the book.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Facts of Life: Stories is a compilation of short stories that contain similar themes. Each story has a young, Latin-American student who struggles to accept reality in their situations. For example, Laurita is a young teenager who learns that she is an illegal alien. Before, she thought she was American until she looked for her birth certificate and could not find it. Her father explains to her that the world is her home, and that a paper should not determine that. She feels the same way and is more passionate about it after she learns that she is in danger of being deported. Other stories show similar threads like the boy who was tricked into stealing. His circumstances were a fact of life. There was nothing that he could do.

I would offer this novel to a middle school audience or a high school audience that faces reading difficulties. The language is simple and basic, yet discusses deeper concepts. Also, the Spanish words intermixed with English could distract readers who do not understand Spanish. (There is a glossary in the back)

[Zack · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally I wasn't that's big a fan of this one in particular because the stories didn't seem to grab my attention as much as other short story books do, in one if the stories a young boy agrees to help out someone who believed was a friend of the family with some honest days work of moving furniture and appliances, and as the day goes on and they spend more time together the boy (Mikey) begins having suspicions that this guy we was working with may be more trouble then the $20 bucks he was promised for helping him, as they pull up to one of the houses the guy tells Mikey that the house is his grand fathers home and when they get in the house its empty and the pictures of the family inside didn't look like they were related to Raul (the person Mikey is helping) at all, and so right after they take the plasma screen TV out of the front room and load it into the back of the pick up truck Mickey decides it would be best for him not to be involved in anything that has to do with Raul so he beings sprinting down the street as fast as he can. The story goes on but that's just a example.

[Dramane]

this book is about a kid who tries to find out the facts of life and he also tries to make new friends and he tries to fit in. he has like a kinda rough stuck up attitude and he is kinda sporty and he likes to play ball. he also takes classes to calm him down because he is crazy.

this connects to me because i like to to play alot of sports and i kinda have attitude problem and i like to make new friends. this also connects to me because i know people who are kinda like crazy and they rreally ned alot of help with most of the things they do.

i would rate this book a 5star because it really connets to the teenage life and it has alot to do with people solving there problems. also how they actually got help. i would reccomend this book to people who need help in a way beacuse they have anger peoblems.

[Madison Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Facts of Life by Gary Soto I was pleased that I read it. It is a collection of short stories based on daily adolescent problems. It is from the perspective of several Hispanic characters growing up. The short stories can range from all sorts of issues including a difficult family realizing they are not true citizens. I thought this was a good way to show to reader and other people what it is truly like through the lens of a young, Hispanic child and how much they really go through. Although Gary Soto does play up his heritage and culture in almost every book I’ve read of his, his background and life stories make for excellent plots and focuses. I thought this kind of book was pretty funny because it is told from the view point of younger kids as opposed to people looking back at their childhood.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has little stories that teaches the Reader Facts of Life. There was this story about a boy named Mickey. He accepts a job offer by this guy on the street. He learns the hard way not to trust strangers. There is another story about a girl who has a boyfriend named Miguel. This girl always does what Miguel says and gives him money and never pays it back.

I can't find a connection.

I gave this book 4 stars because it was a good book. Some the stories were kind of boring. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories about life.

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my Teaching Multicultural Literature course, and I decided to use it as I think it will appeal to Middle Schoolers. The stories deal with issues all young adults face in their lives. My favorite story is the one about the young boy who unwittingly helps a burglar rob a house and then panics! Most of the protagonists are twelve or thirteen years old, and I wish there would have been a wider range of ages, or at least no specific ages mentioned, so that it would reach a larger audience. I decided to teach it anyway because it is very well written.

[Ian Mcenaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is basically a collection of stories in one book.it is stories of problems teenagers face. many stories that explain problems that the teens go thorugh but they are very realistic and could happen to anyone.

many teenagers could connect to this book because anyone could really face these problems. teens go thorugh many problems in life. so this book is pretty relevant in my life or in a teens life.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facts of Life is a 2009 Americas Commended Title. It includes a series of short stories about Latino children and adolescent's experience. The topics include identity, divorce, and heritage. The stories are easy to read and literal. Students will easily relate to one of these life stories. In the classroom, you can use the book as a short read aloud or pick out the stories relevant to your topic.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed these stories, some more than others, but of course that's the pleasure of a book of short stories - if you don't like one, there's plenty others to choose from. Somehow I found the boy characters in this book less likeable than the girl characters. Or maybe I just couldn't relate to them as well, which makes sense.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent collection of short stories! I definitely will be incorporating several of these stories into my classroom. Soto does an excellent job with character voice. These are short stories that are easy to read, but deep in content.

[Erin Sterling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories for middle schoolers that feature Latinos. Fun, but I like some of Gary Soto's other books better. I didn't realize that it was a book of short stories so I was a little disappointed after the first story ended that we wouldn't get to know that character more.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated whether or not to give this 2 or 3 stars. I finally decided on three because of Gary Soto's writing style and his ability to create characters and situations that will appeal to my middle school students.

[PSU]

Gary Soto is a extrodinary aurthor who combines hispanic routes into his books which is shown in this book "Fact of life" which has a bunch of different stories that have something in common and that happens to be that each of the characters show there hispanic routes by

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check the next issue of The Alan Review for a review of this book!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much I liked short stories - a mix of kids with issues, something here for everyone, well told

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poignant coming of age book with various scenarios of different teenagers dealing with the difficult job of growing up. Gary Soto is truly amazing the way he paints a realistic picture with words.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story collection--some good realities for teens to think about, even if they don't all follow the traditional plot chart so heavily inscribed into our "Englishy" brains.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Totally lame but maybe some tweens/teens would enjoy it for independent reading.