A companion to Barely Missing Everything, The Broke Hearts follows JD and Danny a year after Juan’s death as they struggle to build lives that no longer include their best friend. JD has enlisted in the Air Force and chases his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Danny enrolls in community college, determined to chase the future Juan never got. But neither path fits the way they imagined. When deployment looms for JD, and Danny begins to slip academically, the two are forced to confront the grief shaping every choice they’ve made. The Broke Hearts is a story about friendship, loss, and the hard work of becoming someone new when the past refuses to let go.
AUDIO EXCERPTS:
DANNY (voiced by Lee Osorio)
JD (voiced by Ramón de Ocampo)
JUAN LAST CHANCE (Pops and Sonya voiced by Zac Aleman and Raquel Beattie)
Reviews
“Masterfully realized; its symbolic system is noteworthy, with images that accrue ever more refined meanings.”
~ Kirkus
“Mendez deepens this affecting tale…(writing) about parent-child relations, about thwarted best intentions, family; about cultural pressures and gender expectations.”~Arizona Daily Star
“Mendez’s strong narrative and distinct, picturesque writing are both reflected in the artistic aspirations of his protagonists: JD aspires to make movies when he returns from the air force, and his affinity for screenplays is as potent as Daniel’s artistic interest in traditional Mexican and Southwestern aesthetics influences. The two young men aren’t as close as they once were, but they are effectively presented in parallel as Mendez explores masculinity, mourning, and Mexican-American identity with emotional depth that readers will find moving and heartbreaking.”~The Bulletin