Bodega Dreams

The word is out in Spanish Harlem: Willie Bodega is king. Need college tuition for your daughter. Start-up funds for your fruit stand? Bodega can help. He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange for loyalty - and a steady income from the drugs he pushes. Lyric, inspired, and darkly funny, this powerful debut novel brilliantly evokes the trials of Chino, a smart, promising young man to whom Bodega turns for a favor. Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself in over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.