Little Mocos
John Paul Jaramillo

A piercingly dark novel charged with extreme family trauma and poverty. Little Mocos by John Paul Jaramillo is the story of two cousins from Southern Colorado, Manito and Bea, who become products of a socially impairing environment that includes alcoholism, drug use, violence, sexual abuse, murder and more.

Throughout the story, Manito and Bea strive to survive and overcome their disturbingly precarious circumstances, their brutally dysfunctional family, as well as the harsh labor in the onion fields. As expected, both Manito and Bea find themselves stumbling into a pattern of unwise decisions before realizing the full extent and root of their reality.  

Despite the facetious title and the cartoon illustration on the cover, this book is not intended for children, but for a mature audience with a palate for tough and somber-style narratives. Little Mocos, as the cover artwork suggests, depicts a grey and hazardous world with only a flower of hope sprouting defiantly against all odds. 

John Paul Jaramillo has appeared in several publications, including The Acentos Review, Palabra A Magazine of Chicano and Latino Literary Arts, and Somos en Escrito. He was named an International Latino Book Award Finalist in 2013. 

Little Mocos is a publication by Twelve Winters Press and can be purchase through Amazon. Click here to purchase. 

---

Reviewed by
Gerald A. Padilla
​11/20/2017

Gerald A. Padilla (Los Angeles, CA) is founder and director of Latino Book Review, founder of Jade Publishing, founder of the Festival Internacional de Poesía Latinoamericana (FEIPOL), founder of Latin American Foundation for the Arts. He is co-author of the first children's book in Náhuatl in the U.S., Noyolkanyolkej.

Comment Box is loading comments...