You can pray and sometimes God listens, says 19-year-old Eddie. ‘Additional times he’s far away in India or Africa or possibly close to home in Fresno, his body sprawled on to the floor, glass throughout because of a drive-by.’ All Eddie desires is to find a way out of the dangerous existence he’s living, where his friends are shed in a world of drugs and violence. Also his aunt wants to provide him a gun therefore he can avenge the loss of life of her boy. But regardless of how hard he works, Eddie can’t seem to draw himself away from the sweltering sadness of the city. It’s as though giant onions have been buried beneath him, Eddie believes, releasing shimmering vapors off the dark asphalt throughout. Gary Soto, the award-winning author of Jesse, presents a tough, relentless take a look at a life spiraling uncontrollable. Narrator Robert Ramirez voices all the grim failure from the American dream.