Help Wanted: Stories by Gary Soto

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Soto, Gary. 2005. Help Wanted: Stories. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-205201-1

SUMMARY
Teenagers will enjoy this series of ten short stories that deal with the real things in life, like race, family, friendship, death, loneliness, and acceptance. There's Becky, who's trying so hard to learn how to best the best at golf, but just not getting it, or Javier, who thinks his school friend Veronica tells lies all the time, or even, Luis Miguel, who wants to be called Michael, is trying not to be embarrassed when his mom doesn't speak English and still lives her own life likes she's back in Mexico.  Tweens and teenagers will see themselves in these stories and will appreciate their honesty. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Help Wanted, Soto writes about the realities of a young person's life: race, family, first love, friendship, death, loneliness, and acceptance just to name a few.  Even the title of the book gently touches on one of the main themes throughout the book; of young teenagers who are unsure of themselves. When a young boy wore his cadet outfit to school and came across two troublemakers, he "backed away from the sink, not with the sharp military turn of a cadet but with the wariness of a boy watching out for his survival." Soto doesn't neatly finish the stories in a feel-good manner; they often end as life does - with no resolution and wondering what's next. 

Using the occasional Spanish word or phrase, Soto utilizes his Mexican American background and infuses most of the stories with the flavors and sounds of a Hispanic household. Although the stories will resonate with boys and girls, this is an excellent read for reluctant boy readers. The stories are short, between 5-20 pages and contain mainly male characters set in situations that young boys will understand.  Recommended for grade 5 and up.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
"Soto excels at getting into the minds of both boys and girls . . . Readers, Latino or not, have a good chance of seeing themselves and their feelings in these compelling stories."—Kirkus Reviews

"Humorous . . . Thought-provoking."—School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Ten original short stories about Mexican-American teens in central California. The fundamental theme of "needing help" is the common thread among the stories, which range from the satirical to the peculiar to the humorous to the sad...thought-provoking endings, compensate for intermittent awkwardness in the telling. The occasional insertion of Spanish words is done skillfully so that even non-Spanish speakers will understand all aspects of the stories, which are similar in style and tone to Soto's Petty Crimes. --School Library Journal

Gr. 7-10. The stories are sometimes funny, often poignant, and occasionally provocative. Spanish words and phrases, sprinkled throughout the stories, can be understood in context, but the appended glossary is helpful. The stories are laced with harsh, realistic observations and grungy, everyday details...naturalistic style gives the stories a hard, unpleasant edge, but it also makes them vividly believable.--Booklist. 

CONNECTIONS
-Have students write a short story about a boy or girl their age.  The story should be 4-10 pages to allow for a fully developed theme. 

-Have students create a story using www.storybird.com or, if they want to use and Ipad or Ipad mini, they can use the app storyrobe. 

-This is a link which includes 26 lessons in the "Author Study: Gary Soto" which utilizes many of Soto's poems, short stories, and novels, to offer a variety of lessons including ideas on prewriting, vocabulary, supporting a thesis, using literary terminology and much more. 
http://curriculum.dpsk12.org/lang_literacy_cultural/literacy/sec_lit/archives/planning_guides/7/7_5_author_study_lessons.pdf

-Help Wanted includes stories with a strong sense of place (home, neighborhood, family center). Discuss how this thread runs through much of Gary Soto’s work and how he may have been influenced by his own life growing up in Fresno, California.