The Last Summer of the Death Warriors (review)

Stork's latest novel since the impressive Marcelo in the Real World (BCCB 4/09) introduces Pancho, a hard-luck teenager who arrives at St. Anthony's orphanage shortly after the death of Rosa, his sister and last living relative. Consumed with anger over his mentally challenged sister's death, he swears revenge against the man who shared a hotel room with Rosa in her last hours of life, whom he blames for her death. Pancho is temporarily sidetracked from his mission, however, by his new role as caretaker to D.Q., a boy his age who's dying of cancer. As Pancho and D.Q. journey to Albuquerque in search for a cure for D.Q., share their days and nights as roommates, and discuss D.Q.'s in-progress Death Warrior Manifesto, they both unexpectedly find meaning in their unwished-for circumstances. Pancho's anger and hopelessness feel genuine, and he is an easy character both to sympathize with and root for as he grows through the novel. His interactions with the philosophical D.Q. provide the real meat and most intriguing moments of the novel; their journey together is absorbing, and the hot, desolate New Mexico setting provides a fitting backdrop for the novel's intense emotions. While the sheer number of issues taken on (cancer, prostitution, mental illness, revenge, morality, family, racism, and violence, to name a few) has the potential to overwhelm the storyline, the strong characters center the novel and guide this ultimately engaging and affecting read. Readers will relish the powerful friendship between the two teens and perhaps will even find lessons for their own lives in the rules of the Death Warrior.