Debut author Mattox Roesch has tremendous talent and the ability to create characters who leap off the page. This story is about Cesar, a young LA gangbanger, and his mother who has decided to move herself and her son back to the small Alaskan community that she was born in and ran away from 20 years ago. There Cesar's life becomes entwined in his ebullient cousin Go-Boy's wild schemes for a new philosophy of living and his own religion based on the Alaskan, feminine, Jesus. The author actually lives in the town that this story is set in, so his portrait of small village Alaskan life sings with detail and charm. This glimpse of life in a far off place, family, community, and starting over is written with a fresh and vibrant voice that is unforgettable. ( )

I do enjoy reading books with different settings, so I was glad to see that this adult novel started in inner-city Los Angeles and ended up in Unalakleet, Alaska. Just that journey makes a good story! Cesar is a white boy with a Hispanic name, running with Latino gangs in L.A. His older brother is doing the same, and ends up in prison for life for multiple offenses and murder. Cesar's Alaskan native mom doesn't want the same for her other boy and moves them up to Alaska.

Cesar isn't exactly someone you like, once you find out his past history. But his cousin Go-boy is very likable, even though you know his mental health is iffy. The two cousins form a friendship and lean on each to survive. Cesar's narrative is jumpy--traveling back and forth in time, and I'm not sure my high school readers would put up with the unevenness. I had to keep reading to figure out what happened though. The story held my attention though, even when the writing style did not. ( )

From The New York Times Book Review:

When Roesch’s thoughtful first novel opens, Cesar Stone, a 17-year-old Los Angeles gang member whose brother is serving life for murder, is living alone with his financially struggling mother. Determined to make a better life, she moves the two of them back to her hometown — Unalakleet, Alaska, a small fishing village where much of her quirky and eccentric family still lives. (Imagine the protagonist discovering he has a relative named “Aunty Striptease.”) But the most colorful family member is Go-boy, a cousin a few years older and several inches taller than Cesar, whose “black hair stood on end, messy, like a cloud of smoke.” Largehearted and enchanted by life’s mysteries, Go endeavors to make Cesar feel at home, showing him around and getting him a job. Nevertheless, Cesar, homesick, plans his escape — until he meets Go-boy’s beautiful stepsister. But when Go’s enchanted ways darken into something more dangerous, it is Cesar who must help his cousin. Particularly in the middle stretch it feels as though Roesch, who started his career as a story writer, is still learning how to work the stick shift on a long-distance trip, lingering too long in second gear. But he deftly portrays Unalakleet, where “every yard is littered with skeletons of four-wheelers and snow machines and fishing boats,” and once he gets the hang of it, he delivers the narrative soundly to its climactic destination.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/boo...

I was impressed with this book -- it's got crossover appeal in that it is appropriate and of interest for adults and young adults. The writing was solid all the way through, and the characters were very convincing, especially the way that they were at the cusp of learning to deal with life in an adult way. They had a way of looking at things in the past and things in the future that was evolving as you read. Highly recommended. ( )

Cesar is a troubled seventeen year old, growing up on the streets of Los Angeles. His father is mostly absent. His older brother, Wicho, is serving time for the murder of two teenage boys. Cesar is fast following in his brother’s footsteps – a member of a gang whose violence is pulling Cesar into a world where there is no future. Concerned about her son, and wishing to start over, Cesar’s mother decides to move back to the small town of Unalakleet, Alaska – a fishing village where she grew up. Cesar at first believes the move to be temporary…and makes a bet with his cousin Go-boy that he will move back to LA within a year. But Cesar is unprepared for the power of his cousin’s optimism. Go-boy believes in a Good World Conspiracy…and he is ready to lead the way, sporting an Eskimo Jesus tattoo on one arm while philosophizing about the strength of goodness in their small town.

As Cesar adapts to life in Unalakleet, his vision of the world begins to change. Together, with Go-boy and Go-boy’s half sister Kiana, Cesar begins to envision a different future for himself.

Mattox Roesch’s debut novel is about hope born of our connectedness with others. Dark at times, the story explores the roots of despair and how easily an individual can choose the wrong path in their search for identity. Narrated in the original voice of seventeen-year-old Cesar, Sometimes We’re Always Real Same-Same reveals the struggle in choosing a moral path, the guilt of past actions which can not be undone, and the attempt to find meaning in one’s life.

Roesch’s prose is marked by breaks in the narrative, a shifting between past and present. This style did not always work for me, and although it did create a tension in the novel, I found it mostly annoying. Despite this, I thought Roesch got the voice of Cesar “right.” Tough and occasionally insensitive, Cesar was not always a likable character. Although the novel is about Cesar’s growth, I was more strongly drawn to Go-boy who is a quirky, sensitive guy wanting desperately to believe in the goodness of others. Go-boy’s decompensation, as Cesar becomes stronger, was a powerful aspect of the book.

I finished this book with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I loved the message of the book and the originality of the prose. On the other hand, I found Roesch’s style sometimes difficult to read. I believe young adults will be drawn to Roesch’s teenage narrator and Sometimes We’re Always Real Same-Same would make for an excellent book discussion. Readers looking to gain insight into a troubled teen’s thoughts will find this novel compelling. ( )