We Were Here (novel)

We Were Here

Author	Matt de la Pena
Language	English
Genre	Drama
Publisher	Random House Inc.
Publication date	October 5th, 2009
Publication place	America
Media type	book
Pages	368 (Hardback)

We Were Here is a 2009 young adult novel by Matt de la Peña that follows the story of Miguel, a teenager who rebels from the law. We Were Here was recognized as an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, a Junior Library Guild Selection and was named to the 2010 NYC Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age list.

Plot

The novel begins with Miguel getting caught stealing a bike. At the hearing, the judge sentences him to go to a group home for a year and makes him write in a journal while he's there. Before he could go to the group home, he had to go to a juvenile detention center, where he gets in a fight with his roommate Rondell. When he moves into the group home in the morning after the fight. He immediately gets in a fight again on the first day with Mong, a scarred Chinese kid. One night Miguel wakes up to see Mong standing over him menacingly, and Miguel says that Mong can do whatever. The other kids then tell Miguel that Mong is insane.

About a month into his sentence Rondell moves into Miguel's room at the group home. Then about a week later, Miguel wakes up to see Mong standing over him asking to break out with him. Rondell wants to come with them. During lunch time, they devise a plan to break out through the window in in he middle of the night, after which Mong's cousin Mei-Li will be their getaway ride. Before escaping, Miguel goes into the counselor's office and steals all of his money, along with the files of the three of them.

When they get to the mall where they are supposed to meet Mei-Li is not there and they start to worry if she is ever going to show up. When she does, she forces them to agree to that first she wants Mong to see his grandfather in San Fransisco. Mong tells Rondell and Miguel that Mei-Li will go back on her word and not take them to Mexico, so they run while she is in the bathroom. They head south towards Mexico, taking a bus that takes them near Santa Cruz. At a convenience store, Mong is disgusted by the racist cashier, and attacks and ties him up. They then take everything they want and leave. Miguel reads the files on the three of them, learning that Mong's father killed himself and his wife, and tried to kill Mong, scarring him. He also reads that Rondell's single mother died when he was six, and since then he's been raised by foster families and his aunt until his arrest. Miguel then reads his own file, and tears up all three files in anger. They start walking towards Santa Cruz, attempting to hitchhike. An undercover policeman stops the three and asks them their names, and Rondell accidentally gives away his real name. The three are forced to run to avoid being caught and sent back to the Group home.

After they back track they then try to catch a bus that take them further south. After arriving in Santa Monica, the three play basketball until Mong becomes ill, leaving Rondell and Miguel along with several other players. Miguel notices that Rondell is very skilled at basketball, as it said in his file. After two men attempt to steal their money, the three leave and go further south. When they stop for the night at the beach house that Mong and his family used to visit, Mong and Miguel talk, and Mong tells Miguel what Mong thinks of him. In the morning, Miguel wakes up to see Mong walking into the ocean, fully dressed, and drowning. He realizes that this is what Mong intended all along, and that his and Rondell's being there was so that Mong would not be alone in his final days. He and Rondell decide to go to Mexico anyways, but when they arrive at the border, Miguel realizes that he needs to stay and find out who he is.

Miguel and Rondell go back north using the rest of their money. Miguel calls the counselor of the group home, Jaden, and says that he will pay back all the money they stole. In National City, Miguel meets a girl named Flaca, whom he develops feelings for. After going to a party together, the two plan to have sex at the park where they originally met. However, upon arriving, Miguel discovers that the remainder of his money has been stolen by Flaca and her friends. He and Rondell leave National City, going further up the coast. They lie about needing donations for their basketball team in order to get money, until Miguel decides to go with Rondell to Fresno, where Miguel's grandparents live.

In Fresno, Miguel finds his grandfather and asks to work with him and his crew landscaping. His grandfather hires him, but otherwise ignores him. His grandmother visits Miguel and Rondell in the field, and cries, saying that she knows what Miguel did was an accident. After their fourth day of work, Miguel reveals to Rondell that he wasn't arrested for stealing a bicycle, but rather for accidentally killing his brother Diego.

When the two have worked for five days, they finally have enough money to pay Jaden back. Miguel decides to go back to the group home and accept his punishment, rather than go free for what he did, and Rondell gets on a bus to Oakland to track down his aunt. The book ends with Miguel returning to the group home and giving back the money, and Rondell coming back, too.

Reception

We Were Here received mostly positive reviews. Publishers Weekly said it was "furiously paced" and described the book as a "gripping novel". The journal also praised its "inverse authenticity". One reviewer noted the theme of the search for self: "The riveting climax shows with out heavy message that the hero's journey is a search for himself," as Rochman, of Booklist, wrote. The novel is written in "raw yet reflective journal entries" from Miguel's point of view.