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    The Barrio Kings
    The Barrio Kings
    The Barrio Kings
    Ebook78 pages1 hour

    The Barrio Kings

    By William Kowalski

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Rosario Gomez gave up gang life after his brother was killed in a street fight.

    Now all he wants to do is finish night school, be a good father and work hard enough at his job at the supermarket to get promoted. But when an old friend shows up to ask him why he left the gang, Rosario realizes he was fooling himself if he thought his violent past would just go away. When his pregnant girlfriend is hit in a drive-by shooting, Rosario has to make some hard choices. Revenge means a return to his old ways, something he swore he would never do. But unless he takes action, his enemies will not rest until they've settled the score against him.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateApr 1, 2010
    ISBN9781554694402
    The Barrio Kings
    Author

    William Kowalski

    William Kowalski is the author of Eddie's Bastard, Somewhere South of Here, and The Adventures of Flash Jackson. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1970 and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. He lives in Nova Scotia with his wife and daughter.

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    Reviews for The Barrio Kings

    4.5/5

    7 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Well, it certainly was a quick read! I found at times, however, the story was difficult to really get into. I don't know if it was the fact that it was such a condensed book or if it was very simple language and sentences that made it so hard for me. I understood that this book was probably for young adults, but I felt the reading was below that. It read too much like an old school Dick and Jane book to me. The book would be great for an older child just learning to read (maybe didn't have the opportunity, or maybe even someone like the main character in the book?).
    • 4/5
      Loved the book, both content wise as well as it's length. Great for a quick afternoon read. I figured due to it's size, that the author wouldn't have ample time to build the characters and to get very in depth into the story. But....I was wrong! Highly recommended expecially for teens or young adults.
    • 5/5
      I'm afraid I won't do this book review justice. The Youth Department in our church is small and made up of primarily of Latinos. Three of them have girl friends who are expecting babies. I don't know if any to them are in, or have been in, gangs but I felt a kinship with this book. The author told it like it is. It is hard to break away from old habits, especially if you don't have money or friends who encourage you. Rosario did have a good boss who realized Rosario's potential and encouraged him to get his GED.All's well that ends well, and I wish every young man could break away like Rosario did. I heartily recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      This is truly a Rapid Reads book, but this also makes it appealing for a beach, or summer read. At first, I was sure I wasn't going to like this book, but the author pulled me in right away. I expected violence, which is a turn off for me, but the way everything was written, I found myself reading until the end of the book, just to see what the outcome would be. When Rosario Gomez gave up his gang friends to become a father and husband, his gang member friend started to try to pull him back in. This novel shows how allegiances are formed and how hard they are to be let go of. And also, how instrumental one bad apple will try to pull another back in, rather than change into a better life for himself. Good insight into the thinking of gang members and they influence they wield. I highly recommend this book to young people and anyone that is around gang life. Which is everybody, because criminals affect everyone. Pass this book on as a gift to any young person you know; get them to thinking about their future. This book will guide them as to the difficulity of making good decisions, but that it can be done..
    • 5/5
      This is a Rapid Read i got from Library Things Early Review. This is an great story of Rosario Gomez who is trying to stay off the gang streets since he cleaned his life up five years ago when a rival gang shot his brother. He is doing well working , getting his GED, has a apartment and his girlfriend Connie who is about to have their first baby boy. This goes through some of the things he thinks and some of the way he feels. The one of his old friends from he barrio shows up and stirs up trouble. Juan chases while the kids is scared and passes Rosie at the bus stop he helps him and hides him in his bag the next few days Rosie girlfriend Connie is shot , this is when Rosie takes Juan's advice to go after the gang that killed his brother or so the gang thought, he goes to talk to the gang leader that killed his brother and they call a truce or sorts. Rosario Gomez gets his GED and makes manager of the story he is working for and takes care of his girlfriend and baby boy. Great fast read took me like 3 hours.
    • 4/5
      The Barrio Kings is a simple gang story in which Rosario Gomez is trying to escape his gang past, when a friend just released from prison tries to draw him back into the gang. Rapid Reads are books designed for teens or adults with very basic reading skills: a single point story, declarative sentences, and with a handful of characters. As such, they also have to be intersting and involving, especially for their intended audience, and Kowalski succeeds quite nicely in this regard.

    Book preview

    The Barrio Kings - William Kowalski

    THE

    BARRIO

    KINGS

    WILLIAM KOWALSKI

    9781554692453_0003_001

    Copyright © 2010 William Kowalski

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

    Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

    Kowalski, William, 1970-

    Barrio Kings / written by William Kowalski.

    (Rapid reads)

    Electronic Monograph

    Issued also in print format.

    ISBN 9781554692453 (pdf) -- ISBN 9781554694402 (epub)

    I. Title. II. Series: Rapid reads

    PS8571.O985B37 2010 C8I3’.54 C2009-907248-3

    First published in the United States, 2010

    Library of Congress Control Number: 2009942225

    Summary: While finishing his high school diploma and preparing for the birth of his first son, Rosario Gomez struggles to stay out of the gang life that killed his brother. But when his old friend Juan gets out of jail, his past returns to haunt him.

    Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

    Design by Teresa Bubela

    Cover photography by Dreamstime and Teresa Bubela

    In Canada:

    Orca Book Publishers

    PO Box 5626, Station B

    Victoria, BC Canada

    V8R 6S4

    In the United States:

    Orca Book Publishers

    PO Box 468

    Custer, WA USA

    98240-0468

    www.orcabook.com

    13 12 11 10 • 4 3 2 1

    Contents

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Chapter Five

    Chapter Six

    Chapter Seven

    Chapter Eight

    Chapter Nine

    Chapter Ten

    Chapter Eleven

    Chapter Twelve

    Chapter Thirteen

    Chapter Fourteen

    Chapter Fifteen

    Chapter Sixteen

    CHAPTER ONE

    My name is Rosario Gomez. I’m twenty three years old. I stock shelves at the supermarket downtown. I wear a tie to work every day, even though I don’t have to. I wear a long-sleeved shirt to cover my tattoos. But I can’t hide all of them. There’s one on my right hand that says BK in small black letters. That one I can’t hide. So I try to keep my right hand in my pocket when my boss is around.

    My boss is Mr. Enwright. He’s a fat, bald white guy who gets mad easy. But he’s okay. Some of the other workers here call him Mr. Enwrong. I do not do that. Not to his face, and not behind his back. I need this job too bad. Enwright told me that once I get my GED he will promote me to assistant manager. That would be the most important job anyone in my family has ever had.

    I was not always this straight. I came up rough. My neighborhood was on the news almost every night, and the news was never good. It was the kind of barrio nice people don’t visit. There was nothing there for them. There was nothing there for me either. There was only survival, and I had to fight for that.

    I dropped out of school to run with a gang called the Barrio Kings. I did some things I’m not proud of now. Like I said, I had to survive. I used to be the best street fighter around. I didn’t like fighting. But I had no choice. I pretended to like it though. I used to smile. That scared people even more. And when you’re scared, you lose. Most fights are won before they start. You win them in your head, before you even throw a single punch.

    I was just lucky that I was good at fighting, the way some people are just good at music or art. Sometimes I wonder if I should have been a boxer. But I always used to get this sick feeling in my stomach after I hit someone. It stayed with me. I don’t miss that feeling. It’s been a long time since I was in a fight. I hope I’m never in another one.

    Things are different now. I’ve had this job for three years. I’ve stayed out of trouble. I don’t go back to the old barrio anymore. I don’t even miss it. Now I work from nine to five. After work, three days a week, I take the crosstown bus to the community college. That’s where I take my night courses. I’m almost done with them. In just three weeks, I’m going to finish my high-school studies. Then I’ll be the first person in my family to have a diploma too.

    After class, I take another bus home. I live with my girlfriend, Connie. She’s twenty. We’ve been together for two years. We’re going to have a baby in a month. We already know it’s a boy. We’re going to name him Emilio. We have a crib all set up for him. We have a bunch of toys and clothes too. Connie’s Aunt Carlita gave them to us. She has eight kids, so she has a lot of extra stuff.

    By the time I get home after class, I’m wiped. But Connie has not been feeling too good lately, so usually I make dinner. I can’t believe how big she is. Her feet hurt all the time. So do her hips and knees. I feel bad for her, but there’s nothing I can do. And Emilio is almost here. I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.

    Mr. Enwright told

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