Diego MacMann is 16 years old and growing up in Texas. He was born in Mexico and moved with his mother to America upon her marriage to his step father. Looking at him, most people would see a great kid: he gets good grades, has a wonderful weekend job at the local fish store, and even helps around the house. Things really seem to change after his stepfather Mac commits suicide by shooting himself in the garage.

Things all come to a head when Diego, whose anger issues have been getting more intense, flips out and punches a gay classmate because he does like the way the boy, who is gay, is looking at him. As a result, Diego ends up being arrested and finds himself shifting into the juvenile court system. It is here that he is connected with Mr. Vidas, who is assigned as his probation officer. Beyond that, Mr. Vidas seems to take on the role of counselor as he starts to realize that Diego's anger issues are tied to a much deeper problem.

Through there weekly conversations, Diego begins to be more comfortable talking with Mr. Vidas and becomes comfortable enough to reveal that he had been in fact sexually abused by Mac for many years. Diego wasn't only having trouble controlling his temper as a result, but had turned to cutting himself on a regular basis, covering himself with scars that match those he has on the inside.

Mr. Vidas is also guiding Diego through his first relationship. Diego has been interested in a girl at school for some time, but only gets the courage to approach her after getting some advice from Mr. Vidas. To his surprise, Diego finds out that the girl is not only interested in him, but cares enough to overlook the troubles he is facing.

Sanchez has always done a great job of molding characters. They are often filled with an inner turmoil and react in realistic ways to their troubles. In this instance, Sanchez has confronted sexual abuse and the various resulting problems its victims are confronted with. The reader can help but feel for Diego even as he struggles to get his anger managed.

The author has tactfully handled a male perspective of being the victim of such abuse, and carefully examines the sexual identity issues that often branch off of such a horrible experience. The only problem I have with the book is the fact that things are fully resolved in about 6 months, but that is something that is forced in order to resolve the issues in a single novel. Even with the shortened time frame, Sanchez has done a great job of handling a difficult topic, and it is done with his usual writing acumen.