Always Running: Gang Days In L. A, By Luis Rodriguez
Challenged Book: Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A.
In the book, Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A, written by Luis J. Rodriguez, the main character Luis Rodriguez, experiences a crazy early teen life of being a gang member in East Los Angeles. Luis Rodriguez describes La Vida Loca, which means “the crazy life”, through the gang culture, the endless shootings he witnessed, beatings, arrests, and also through murder, drugs, and suicide. Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A has very sensitive, explosive details about the acts of crime in the streets, drugs, murder, and sex, which resulted in this book being challenged. Luis Rodriguezs’ details are extraordinary, haunting, and yet very unique. Always Running:
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For example, in chapter 2 of Always Running, Luis Rodriguez says, “A deputy restrained me as the other one climbed onto the roof. He stopped at a skylight, jagged edges on one of its sides. Shining a flashlight inside the building, the officer spotted Tino’s misshapen body on the floor, sprinkled over with shards of glass” (Rodriguez, 37). This was the very first time Luis had witnessed his close friend die in front of him all because they trespassed the sign that read “ NO ONE ALLOWED AFTER 4:30 PM, BY ORDER OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.” Death is a scary scene to see and especially that the fact it can haunt you for the rest of your life. Some young adults may already be trespassing places they are not suppose to be and this specific example will teach young adults about thinking smarter and about following the laws. If Luis and Tino never passed the gate, Tino would have been still alive. Another sensitive, detailed topic that Luis Rodriguez describes is about sex. “The penis sank into the bristle of pubis, then slid into the oil vagina, covering it in flesh and juice and rhythm of pelvis” (Rodriguez, 128). This detail is very descriptive, and is another reason teen pregnancy is happening. One little move on a girl or guy can turn you into becoming a mother or father. This isn't the only “pornographic” detail Luis states in his book, there are much more. He writes these details in his book because it is the reality of what teenagers do and he wants to teach teenagers life lessons about sex. Luis faced discrimination, arrests, gangs, drugs, and all kinds of street crimes. But, within all this Luis continued to go to school and opportunities popped up for him. Everyone is struggling but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give up. Luis didn’t give up and in the book he stands up to what
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