Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida Quotes

That summer my brother, Bernardo, or "Nardo," as we call him, flipped through more jobs than a thumb through a deck of cards. (1.1)

I wasn't like Nardo. I suppose years of not knowing what, besides work, was expected from a Mexican convinced me that I wouldn't pass from this earth without putting in a lot of days. I suppose Nar...

I imagined already being on the baseball team at school, and people looking at me. Not these people picking chilies or those sent away in the vans, but people I had yet to know, watching me as I st...

This time it was Stinky, twisting a stick in his hand, acting like he'd just thought up something terrific. He was in my grade at school, but about three years older than everybody else. He had rat...

"But you know how the Welfare is," Dad said. "They want to know everything. A social worker comes over, acting like we're criminals. Then the whole neighborhood knows we're getting Welfare." […]"...

At first Nardo didn't want to go to the fields. Not because of pride, although he'd have used that excuse at the beginning if he could've gotten away with it. It was more because, like anyone else,...

This time it was Stinky, twisting a stick in his hand, acting like he'd just thought up something terrific. He was in my grade at school, but about three years older than everybody else. He had rat...

Dad was angry at the Garcias for destroying his dream. He had bought this croquet set, with which he planned to play with the neighbors while lounging away the hot afternoons. But on the first day...