Diamond Park

A fast-paced novel about four Mexican American teenagers from Houston, a ‘59 Chevy Impala, and a murder that changes their lives forever.

“Packs a punch while managing to wrest tough situations into the realm of hope.”—Booklist, starred review

“A powerful novel about teenagers forced to grow up too soon [and] kids dealing with adult problems.”—Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls

Flaco isn’t the kind of kid who gets in trouble. He doesn’t want to give his mom or his aunt any grief. They’ve had enough since his cousin Carlos died in Afghanistan. But he finds a whole lot more than trouble when he and his friends Tiny, Magaña, and Susi take the bus from their Houston neighborhood to Diamond Park to buy a used car. And not just any car—a 1959 Impala convertible, a dream ride. The transaction gets complicated fast, and Susi ends up with a knife in her hands, covered in blood.

To clear Susi’s name, the boys cross into Mexico hunting for a trafficker named Anaconda, the man they believe is the real killer. In the process, they discover how little they ever actually understood about what really happened in Diamond Park.