Realism and Censorship
Who are YA? Evaluating YA Romanticism and Adventure Fantasy and Science Fiction History, Biography, and Nonfiction
Poetry, Drama, Film, Response Author Study: Judy Blume
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Taking Sides
         Taking Sides is the story of a young teenager, Lincoln Mendoza, who is growing in a different environment than the one he is accustomed to. He is a Mexican-American teenager trying to find where he belongs in his surroundings. Having grown up in a barrio in southern California, he finds it a little difficult to adjust to his new neighborhood and new school in the suburbs. The two neighborhoods are very different. In his ghetto neighborhood, it is common to see beggars and street fights. Children play barefoot on the street and stray dogs look for food scraps. His new neighborhood has beautifully maintained lawns and neighbors too busy to chat, rushing off to their jobs. At Lincoln's old school, Franklin Junior High, the population consists of "brown, black, and yellow kids linking arms in friendship." There are fights in the hallways and in the cafeteria, but for the most part, it is a pleasant atmosphere. Now at Columbus Junior High, Lincoln notices that he is one of the few "brown" kids there. Everyone is well behaved and the major concerns consist of tardy slips and lost jackets. Everyone is neatly dressed and their clothes would never come from K-Mart.
          Lincoln's greatest dilemma is the upcoming basketball game between the two schools. He feels he cannot let his new team members down, but in his heart, he wants his old school to win. Not only does there exist a previously established rivalry between the two schools, but for some strange reason, Coach Yesutis at Columbus Jr. High has something against Lincoln. Things become slightly more complicated when Lincoln hurts his knee during a street encounter of basketball. Coach Yesutis thinks Lincoln is faking and tries to force him to play. 
          In essence, the story lacks emotion and valuable dialogue. The plot is not complex at all and attracts perhaps only male young adults. There is little depth and meaning, and many unresolved dilemmas. The reader is left wondering why the coach dislikes the main character, and nothing is ever explained of the breaking into Lincoln's house in both neighborhoods. No one questions why Lincoln's television is for sale at a  local second hand store. The conclusion was incredibly flat and sudden. What should have been the most climatic part of the book, the basketball game, is told in less than two pages. While the story contains characteristics that Mexican American readers might relate to, they may find it frustrating the way the characters repeat the exact phrases in both languages.

Soto, Gary. 1991. Taking sides. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers. Orlando, Florida.
          ISBN 0-15-284076-1.
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