Behind the Eyes

Stork, Francisco X. 2006. Behind the Eyes.

Set in Texas--El Paso and San Antonio--Behind the Eyes is the story of a young teen boy in trouble with the law. When his brother is murdered by a rival gang, our narrator Hector Robles steps out of his character and does the unthinkable: tries to retaliate. Hector grew up different from his father and brother. Not prone to violence or anger. A boy who likes to blend in and escape notice from the more dangerous elements of their neighborhood. A boy who tries to make good grades and dreams of making a better life and getting the necessary education. But all that changes with the death of his brother. Without thinking almost, he reacts impulsively and is almost killed. Now lying in a hospital bed, he is missing his own brother’s funeral and listening to a social worker tell him that his only hope to survive is to go to a school for teens with troubled pasts in San Antonio. Once there he must learn to cope with the past in order to create a positive future not only for himself but for his family as well.