The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez

3.5 Stars

I really have nothing negative to say about The Boy Kings of Texas. This was another selection I picked up due to this list and my issues are strictly opinion based and fairly benign at that. Per usual, I am always curious why a “Regular Joe” (for lack of a better term) deems their life story so much more noteworthy than the next guy that he/she takes pen to paper, but more power to them for believing their story worth telling. While memoirs by non-famous people aren’t always my idea of a great time, I am pretty open about my love for coming of age tales, so my rating would have probably been kicked up a notch had so many years past the formative ones been left on the cutting room floor. A heavier-handed editor would have also been beneficial. Domingo Martinez has an excellent delivery – very conversational with a dry wit, like sitting around the kitchen table having coffee with an old friend. Unfortunately not every entry was a winner so my attention waned at times. For those looking for an #ownvoices selection regarding the migrant experience, this is once again not it. Martinez’s brothers refer to themselves as Tejano, “Texican” and plain old American. They were all U.S. citizens and this is simply the story of their life growing up in Brownsville, Texas. That’s not to say it’s not worth reading, however. Much like Half Broke Horses tales about the Granny are well worth the price of admission all on their own.