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Eddie is a lost soul trying to get by in a dangerous part of Fresno, California. Out of high school, trying to stay alive and make it on his own while improving himself by attending City College, his day is spent avoiding the gangs that own his street. Early on, Eddie gives us a picture of his neighborhood:
“The old sat on porches, fanning themselves, stirring up that onion smell so that it moved up and down the block. Some guys, all of them Mexican like me, worked on their cars, and the young mothers stood on their front lawns, talking as they pushed their strollers back and forth…Still the babies cried…we were like those strollers going back and forth, back and forth, getting nowhere.”
Eddie’s father, uncle and cousin have died recently, and his best friend was knifed in a restroom, and died. For Eddie, the world is a sad place where everyone is disappointed and disappointing. It is like living in a world where onions are forever being peeled and people are forever crying.
Author Soto always brings his readers a story that makes them think and characters who arouse emotions both of sympathy and of anger. The story is replete with strong language and Spanish terms are used throughout the text, with a glossary included at the end for these words and phrases. If unfamiliar with Spanish, the reader will find themselves flipping back and forth to the glossary in order to understand many of Soto’s references.
Buried Onions has received awards from the American Library Association in two categories, as well as being named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Despite its depressing nature and use of strong language, or perhaps because of it, it will be seen in the back pockets of many young adult readers.
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Buried Onions