It Doesn't Have To Be This Way / No tiene que ser así

Review
By Booklist

Rodríguez’s personal experience, as a teenage gang member and now as an adult counselor, gives the story immediacy. The text is bilingual, first English, then Spanish, on each page, with richly colored, full-page realistic paintings that show a diverse Latino cast in the dramatic narrative. Great for group discussion about the yearning for a mentor, for community, for courage.