Point of View

The novel is narrated in the first-person, always from the perspective of Mike Muñoz, a young Mexican-American living in Washington State and working as a landscaper when the novel begins. Mike struggles to form meaningful relationships with his friends and a girl he has a romantic interest in while also trying to elevate his socioeconomic status. Jonathan Evison does not place any limitations on the access to Mike’s inner thoughts, allowing the reader to understand his true motivations, fears, and conflicts as he begins to question his sexuality and sense of self.

Mike is not always a sympathetic character because his selfishness and struggles are plainly seen. Evison does not hold back the explicit reality of masculine spaces and the anguish caused when a young man cannot subscribe to the idea of masculinity expected of him.

Although he is already an adult, Mike...