Crazy Weekend

by Gary Soto

A "fun-packed adventure" ( VOYA ) by a gifted and popular storyteller. When Hector and his friend Mando, seventh-graders, visit Uncle Julio, a photographer in Fresno, they have more excitement than they ever imagined. On a photo shoot in a rickety old plane, they spot an armored car heist, and Uncle Julio snaps some shots of the robbers. After they report what they saw, the two robbers decide they have to teach Hector and Mando a lesson. When the bumbling thugs meet up with the quick-witted boys, the results are hilarious.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook, Adventure, Young Adult, Hispanic

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Taylor Manrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young best friends Hector and Mando are taking an exciting trip to Los Angeles to visit Hector's uncle. Hector's uncle takes them out on the town to show them where he takes photographs, but they end up witnessing a robbery. The boys are conflicted on if they will keep their mouth shut or turn the robbers in for money. The boys end up encountering the robbers when they are chased down by them, but they eventually get the upper hand when they take the robbers down. The boys are shocked at their trip to California, but are happy that they have an interesting story to tell back home. The major strength of this story is its inclusion of both Spanish and English, making it appealing to speakers of both languages. Not many book are in two languages, so this book was refreshing in that aspect. This book would be appealing to young teenagers who would enjoy an adventure like this, especially since they had robbers chasing them and they had the power to get them arrested. However, many aspects of this book were not very realistic, even though it is fiction, it falls under realistic fiction. For example, when the boys beat up the robbers and are heroic, that is not a realistic situation, especially since the boys are 7th graders going against grown men. I appreciate how the author included both perspectives of the boys and the robbers throughout the story. This allows readers to understand the thoughts and emotions of both sets of characters. This way they are allowed to get an idea of what will happen before it even happens. The title of this book fits perfectly with the story line. I was not a personal fan of this book, but I believe that many middle-level readers, especially boys, would enjoy this book, especially because the content is at the maturity level of this age group. I would use this book in the classroom as a teaching lesson on all major aspects of literature, such a characters, setting, theme, plot, and resolution. After reading the story, students should be able to identify all of the literary elements of the book, which is a skill they will keep and be able to use for other books that they read.

[Nancy Perez Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy Weekend by Gary Soto is a story about Hector and his friend Mando who go visit Hector’s uncle for the weekend. When both Hector and Mando witness a crime happening right in front of them they decide to take pictures. But then these pictures end up going viral and now the criminals are on their search to find Hector and Mando. This is an adventurous and interesting book, where we can see how the different characters all respond to the situation they are in. I think that this book would a an interesting read for young readers who enjoy action and suspense! When reading Crazy Weekend, I knew that this book would teach children how to handle a dangerous situation, just like the one Hector and Mando were in. I also really enjoyed how Gary Soto included both Spanish and English in his book making it more diverse for readers!

[Arissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to this book on a road trip. We enjoyed the Spanish and English inclusion. The book was quite funny. It almost reminded me of a literature version of Home alone. There were a few instances of swearing.

Also it was frustrating that the main characters didn’t handle a dangerous situation safely. If bad guys were after my kids I would hope they would have the common sense to call the police. I do understand the plot would be ruined if they had done that.

Over all this was a good listen. The narrator did a wonderful job on voices and tone.

[Cailyn]

Hector and Mando are two best friends who become witness to a robbery, and are forced to decide to turn the robbers in for money or keep their mouths shut. they must choose to find the righ thing to do.
i would say this is a more advanced read for middle school, or early high school. this novel tackles the theme of conflict and resolution.

[Jane Fox]

Cute book fast read

[Diane Ashour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick book with humor and action.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to listen to on a family drive! Fun characters!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of this novel. I thought it was a little far-fetched. Granted it's straight fiction, so it can be as far-fetched as it wants, but I didn't really buy into it. It's about these two Mexican-American kids who go to visit one of their uncles for the weekend. Uncle Julio is a photographer and takes Hector and Mando up in an airplane for one of his shoots. While they are flying they observe an armed robbery, and capture it on film. Later, the robbers find their trail and set off in pursuit of the photographs Julio took. Needless to say it makes for a Crazy Weekend.

I think that young pre-teen ish boys would probably enjoy it more than I did, but that's probably more the age Soto was aiming for anyways.

[Kai Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When best friends, Hector and Mondo find themselves very bored, Hector's mom sends them down to see Hector's uncle for the weekend. When they are there, they help him with his job as a photographer. When they are shooting a farm from above in an airplane they see an armored car robbery and take photos. They were then featured in the newspaper and then the robbers found out who they were. Now the robbers will stop at nothing to scare or even kill them and get the negatives.

The book is very well planned out. I like how it switched between the robber's point of view and then the kid's point of view. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Damayanty Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being Mexican AMerican myself and from California, I really appreciated this novel because of the way Soto wrote in English and Spanish. Also, since I haven't read very many multicultural YA literture, this was a good change from what I've been reading. This novel follows two young Latinos who are visiting their uncle in Fresno, California and the crazy weekend they spent there. I really enjoyed!

[Jordan E. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read this in a while, to be honest, but from what I remember, it deserves five stars. I'm tempted to pick it up again just to see if my perspective will change, but I don't want to because 1) I don't WANT it to change, and 2) It's unlikely that it WILL change. Not much more to say, but I loved it. I hope everyone else who reads it does, too.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Mando and his friend Hector, who go to spend their weekend with Hector's Uncle. During their stay they witness a robbery and take photos of what happens. I liked this book because it has a lot of action. They get chased by the robbers and end up beating up the robbers.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two boys visit their uncle in Fresno for a vacation, which quickly turns into a robbery- caper. I liked the Latino voices and the audio was terrific. The boys are smarter than all the adults in the book, which would tickle kids.

[Aiyana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Crazy Weekend by Gary Soto was a good book but I have read a lot beater books. This book to me was boring. There were not any exiting events. The only part that was kind of exiting was that there was a

[Uziel Pecina]

COOL BOOK!!!!!!!! :)