• Pedro & Daniel

Pedro & Daniel

Illustrator
Julie Kwon
Publication Date
June 06, 2023
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  11th − 12th
Language
English
Pedro & Daniel

Description

KIRKUS BEST OF THE YEAR

Pedro and Daniel are Mexican American brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio. Their mom doesn't like that Pedro is a spitting image of their darker-skinned father, that Daniel plays with dolls, that neither of the boys love sports like the other kids in their neighborhood. Life at home can be rough - but the boys have an unshakable bond that will last their entire lives.

Pedro & Daniel is a sweeping and deeply personal novel - illustrated with beautiful linework throughout by Julie Kwon - that spans from childhood to teenage years to adulthood, all the while tracing the lives of two brothers who are there for each other when no one else is. Together the brothers manage an abusive home life, school, coming out, first loves, first jobs, and the AIDS epidemic, in a coming-of-age story unlike any other.

P R A I S E

★ "Pedro and Daniel's journey, whether together or apart, is an unforgettable one of resilience and, most of all, love. Stunning."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

★ "Luminous. Riveting. Uplifting and heart-wrenching."
--Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ "Devastatingly beautiful."
--Shelf-Awareness (starred)

"A powerful coming-of-age story that is unforgettable."
--Booklist

"Artistically ambitious and unflinchingly personal...shines with the depiction of connection, love, and overcoming adversity."
--BCCB

"A multi-layered and nuanced story."
--School Library Connection

Publication date
June 06, 2023
Genre
Fiction
Page Count
440
ISBN-13
9781646143047
Publisher
Levine Querido
BISAC categories
YAF031000 - Young Adult Fiction | LGBT
YAF018070 - Young Adult Fiction | Family | Siblings
YAF046140 - Young Adult Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
Library of Congress categories
Families
Brothers
Coming of age
Bildungsromans
Mexican Americans
Ohio
Homosexuality
Abusive mothers

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In this luminous semi-autobiographical debut, told across five parts starting in the late 1960s, Erebia shares interconnected stories that render fictionalized versions of himself and his younger brother. While Mexican American Pedro is technically older than Daniel, the brothers are "very much alike, as if they are twins born fifteen months apart." Though they live with three sisters and an older brother, Pedro and Daniel endure the brunt of their mother's physical and verbal abuse, as she singles both out for their refusal to play sports ("Mom says all her boys must like sports.... There will be no exceptions!"). She disparages Pedro in particular for inheriting his father's darker skin tone. Erebia mixes the brothers' illuminating alternating third-person POVs with perspectives of adults throughout their community to present a layered, thoroughly riveting telling that follows Pedro and Daniel from 1968 toddlerhood to young adulthood in 1992. As the pair chase their respective dreams of being a priest and a doctor, navigate suicidal ideation, and combat discrimination based on colorism, neurodivergence, race, sexuality, and terminal illness, Erebia deftly weaves together the boys' everyday joys with the seriousness of their situations, presenting a clear portrait of two brothers' fierce love that is by turns uplifting and heart-wrenching. Emotive illustrations by Kwon (Peter Lee's Notes from the Field) appear throughout. Ages 12-up. (June)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

Starred Review

Stunning.

ALA/Booklist

A powerful coming-of-age story, Erebia's debut is a title that is unforgettable.

Federico Erebia
Federico Erebia is a retired physician, artist, woodworker, author, and illustrator. His artisanry, woodwork, furniture design, and books have been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio, and television. He is an active member of several writing groups. Pedro & Daniel is his debut novel. He lives in Massachusetts with his husband, and their westie and whippet.