“Opens the eyes of the reader and keep them wide-eyed until the final breath”

Living in rural Somerset could not be further away from the gang-controlled streets of Mexico but thanks to the award-winning Antonio Ramos Revillas, the sights, sounds and smells of Monterrey feel like they are on my doorstep after reading The Wild Ones.

Translated by Claire Storey, The Wild Ones bursts off the page and transports you to a world where a generation has been marked by the violence which comes with drug trafficking.

Every page is penetrated with language typical to Monterrey giving this read verisimilitude as you are plunged into the lives of teenager Efraín and his younger brothers, left to fend for themselves after their mother is wrongly arrested for theft.

The boys are trying to buck the trend by studying to give them a future away from the drugs and violence. Unfortunately, they are blighted by the neighbourhood to which they were born, and the reputation that brings with it.

While their mother had tried to keep the boys away from the criminal gangs who rule the roost but they are left with no choice to accept offers of support from gang members.

Survival is paramount but accepting the help of gangs comes with a significant cost, and it is not one that money alone can repay, even if that money was available.

This adventure story has an emotional impact which can leave the reader appreciating the circumstances they are enjoying this book in, compared to the lives of Efraín and his brothers.

The story may be bordering on a novella but there is enough in its pages to open the eyes of the reader and keep them wide-eyed until the final breath of the last sentence.

Thank you to Random Things Tours for including me on this blog tour.