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Buried Onions | 
 enlarge | Author: Gary Soto
Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks
List Price: $6.95
Buy New: $2.45
You Save: $4.50 (65%)
New (33) Used (15) from $2.45
Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 338150
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 168
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0152062653
EAN: 9780152062651
ASIN: 0152062653
Publication Date: December 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Eddie can always smell onions in the air--the sharp bitter odor of hopelessness and anger that haunts the poor side of Fresno. "I had a theory about those vapors, which were not released by the sun's heat but by a huge onion buried under the city. This onion made us cry. Tears leapt from our eyelashes and stained our faces." Eddie tries to escape from the poverty and gang society that surrounds him by taking vocational classes and staying away from his old "cholos," (gang friends). But when his cousin is killed, his aunt urges him to seek out and punish the murderer. To avoid the pressure building in his neighborhood, Eddie takes a landscaping job in an affluent suburb. But this too goes awry when his boss's truck is stolen while in his care. In the end, with his money gone and a dangerous gang member stalking him, Eddie's only choice is to join the military and hope that they can give him a better future than the one Fresno seems to offer. There is no tidy closure--certainly no happy ending--to this bleak novel. But that is exactly what gives Buried Onions its strong, acidic flavor. Teens with a low tolerance for any type of pretense will appreciate Gary Soto's honesty in not trying to force a fairy-tale ending. In spare but always striking prose, Soto has written an unrelentingly grim story that teens will savor because it rings true. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert
Product Description
Eddie's father, two uncles, and best friend are all dead, and it's a struggle for him not to end up the same way. Violence makes Fresno wallow in tears, as if a huge onion were buried beneath the city. Making an effort to walk a straight line despite constant temptations and frustrations, Eddie searches for answers--and discovers that his closest friends may actually be his worst enemies. Includes a reader's guide and a glossary of Spanish words and phrases.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 Looking at things through other eyes September 15, 2008
Lady Dragon
A teacher using this for oral reading in her class for discussion in other areas of life different from the students he has.
buried onions by rm June 14, 2007
Heather Hogan (California)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can easily say that "Buried Onions" is one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. This book was written by Gary Soto. This book to me was meant for people that like to read good books in a short period of time. WARNING the following paragraph may contain some sentences that might spoil your reading.
This book is about Eddie a young adult trying to find a good future for himself. He juggles with multiple ideas like going to the military, college, or he could just stay in the same life dragging himself to survive. I recommend this book to all people in general because this is such a good book everyone will like it. Thanks for reading this review and I hope to see you reading "Buried Onions" by Gary Soto in the future.
 Dreaming big, overcoming big obstacles April 26, 2007
armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota)
Eddie's home in Fresno, California, is not exactly a happy place for him. At nineteen, he's dropped out of college, he has lost more friends than he can count to the violence that is abundant in his hometown, and his aunt is after him to avenge his cousin's death.
Eddie, unlike most of the kids he grew up with, is trying to earn an honest living, and maybe even get out of Fresno someday, and away from all of the violence that has been his life so far. But that's harder than it sounds, when you've got no money and very little education. No matter how hard Eddie struggles to change his life, people around him are always pulling him down--and there are few exceptions to that rule.
Buried Onions is a fairly quick read, but there's a lot to it, and it stays with you long after the last page.
Eddie in particular is one of a cast of three-dimensional, interesting characters whose lives are probably very different from that of most who read this powerful novel. The characters bring this sorrowful, hopeful story alive, as does Gary Soto's obvious talent for choosing just the right words to keep the reader interested in what he has to say and to get his point across eloquently.
Armchair Interviews says: Buried Onions is an honest, thought-provoking novel that should be a required reading for everyone.
The Greatest book I've RED!!! May 8, 2006
Ali Anderson (WA, USA)
In the book "Buried Onions", Gary Soto lets us wonder our minds and making us see how hard it is for a nineteen year old man, Eddie, trying to get away from all the violence that Fresno, California has to offer. Eddie with all the pain that he feels and all the sorrow that he feels also since his Father and his brother and now his cousin are all dead, He now wants a change in his life and with all the problems that he passed he finally reconsiders his coaches request for him to join the Marines.
Violence, Sex and Girls December 9, 2005
Ana Garcia (Torrance, California)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ana Garcia from Torrance, California
Have you ever wonder what the life of a Chicano youngster is? Do you know how hard it is for a 19 year old guy to try living a normal life when everything around him wants to turn him into a criminal? Do you enjoy action, guns, gangsters, gangster girls and sex in a book?
Well, if you answer yes to any of this question the book you should be reading is Buried Onions is just perfect for you. The book portraits the life of Eddie, a young guy, who only wants to work but everyone expects him to get revenge against the killer of his cousin, Jesus. Eddie had a really hard time. "To lay open my heart with all its problem, I could have gone to a priest with pleats of wisdom on his brow". This is a part of the book in which he really doesn't know what to do. All the advice the people are giving to him wont lead him to any good. Everyone around him wants to go and kill the killer of Jesus. It is so hard on Eddie that he cant even have sex with a girl when the named of his Eddie knows that violence will only lead him to more violence. You should read it to the end so you could find out the twist at the end of the book
This to me is a wonderful book. It is a book that once you started reading is almost impossible to let it go. The whole book will have you thinking what will happen next. You will get so into it that for moments you will forget that is a book, and you would think that it is real life. If you will ask me to rate this book from a scale o 1-10 I will with no doubt give it **10**.
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