And the Shawdows Took Him

When I first saw the book, “And the Shadows Took Him,” I wasn’t too excited about reading it. This is because I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover. To me, it just looks boring, and being that it’s an assigned reading book, I already thought it would be boring. Boy was I wrong. This book wasn’t boring at all, it was just the opposite. The characters in this book make it impossible to be boring. I never knew what they were going to do next.
It was a little difficult for me to catch on to the different characters in the book at first. This is because Daniel Chacon jumps around a lot in the beginning. Also his use of Spanish language was sometimes confusing because I didn’t know what it all meant. I did take Spanish classes in high school, so I understood most of it, but for the average reader, this could get very frustrating. I know the author was trying to get more of a Chicano feel by using Spanish language, but I think he should’ve stuck with one language throughout the book, or at least translated the phrases that he did write in Spanish.
I did really enjoy this book; however I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. There was no clarity as to what happened to each of the characters. Did Rachel really leave, and did she keep any contact with William? Did she meet up with Vero and live together again? Did Joey go trough with his plan and move back to Fresno with his mom? What did William do to Joey? All of these were questions of mine once I finished Chacon’s novel. I really wish he would continue his writing with a second book. I would defiantly read it, and I’m sure anyone who read his first book would as well. By reading these posts, it seems like most people were disappointed with the ending.