118 pages • 3 hours read
Matt de la PeñaWe Were Here
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
We Were Here
- Genre: Fiction; young adult realistic contemporary
- Originally Published: 2009
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 770L; grades 9-12
- Structure/Length: A series of dated or named journal entries; approx. 368 pages; approx. 11 hours on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Sent to a juvenile home for an offense not clarified until the story’s end, teenager Miguel Casteñada keeps a journal required by his sentencing that relays his experiences in the group home, his escape with two other juvenile residents, and his travels and observances along the way.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Cultural identity and racial identity; juvenile delinquency; language; suicide; suicidal ideation; underage drinking; physical abuse; sexual abuse
Matt de la Peña, Author
- Bio: Born in San Diego, California; attended University of the Pacific on a basketball scholarship; earned graduate degree in creative writing at San Diego State University; writer of short fiction, essays, and a Newbery Award-winning picture book (Last Stop on Market Street, 2015); creative writing instructor; now lives in Brooklyn, New York
- Other Works: Ball Don’t Lie (2005); Mexican Whiteboy (2008); The Living (2013)
- Awards: ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; NYC Public Library Stuff for the Teens (2010); Junior Library Guild Selection
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
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