The Latin Kings are one of the most violent street gangs in America, “The Latin King gang is one of the most violent gangs in the United States today, with leaders unafraid to order "hits" on correctional officers and followers unashamed to obey their orders” (Knox 2000), and this book is an account of one of its members. At the beginning of My Bloody Life, Reymundo Sanchez the author, is living in Puerto Rico with his mother, who is 16 at the time of his birth and father, who is 74 and passes when Reymundo is five. My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King, is a disturbingly authentic and petrifyingly captivating account of the birth of a Latin King. It follows Reymundo from birth in Puerto Rico until the day he quits the gang at the age …show more content…
While some Americans’ enjoyed “the land of opportunity…” (Sanchez p.4) others had to deal with harsh obstacles that emerged at every turn, “All of his anger was taken out on us. Whether it was money problems, the baby crying, or an itch he couldn’t scratch, we were beaten for it” (Sanchez, p.3). These obstacles can be overcome however they can also trip you up which is what happened to Sanchez. As violence increases your reputation within the ranks of the gang and the Latin Kings “The Latin Kings are known to beat, stab, or shoot members who have not conformed to the gang 's rules of obedience, resulting in serious physical injury up to and including death” (Segag.org 2011), Sanchez hungered to be at the top lead him to follow the wrong path. The style of writing throughout the book is not great, “There will never be a lack of attention for me. Everything was going to be great once school started. I was wrong.” (Sanchez, p.13), however this can be expected from the reading understanding that he dropped out of school to pursue gang life full time. Although the writing style was crude and raw at times I feel that it added an element of authenticity to his account. For me the story would not carry the same weight if, a fully immersed gang member, was given their encounter and the story had all proper