BAIT by Alex Sanchez

Bait was about a boy named Diego who was suffering with a horrible secret. The secret was he was raped and abused when he was younger by his stepfather. This caused him to worry he'd be gay or even turn gay. Than one day a boy at school who was gay was staring at Diego, Diego told him to stop and he wouldn't so Diego punched him in the face. This is when he met his PO (Parole Officer) Mr. Vidas. As he began to open up with Mr. Vidas we found out that Diego had tried to tell his mom that this was happening but when he brought it up she slapped him across the face, she wouldn't listen to him. Diego started to feel more and more comfortable with Mr. Vidas but once this happened he felt like he was being taken away because Mr. Vidas decided against having him be on Parole. Diego felt betrayed and worried Mr. Vidas was the only male figure Diego had in his life and he wasn't about to lose that. So Diego requested to have probation so he could talk more to Mr. Vidas. Mr. Vidas had no idea Diego was cutting him self and soon found out. After this, all Diego's secrets began spilling out eventually leading to Mr. Vidas' secret also being found out. Mr. Vidas is gay. Diego immediately felt betrayed and decided he was going into the ocean to fight the shark that appeared in his dreams so often. After almost drowning Diego made it back to shore and decided to talk to Mr. Vidas about what he had learned. Mr. Vidas confirmed to him that he was in fact gay and told Diego that he'd never hurt him, and Diego soon trusted him again. Eventually Mr. Vidas sent up a meeting with Diego's mom & himself and Diego told her about the abuse. Soon after opening up their relationship got better, and Mr. V tried an activity asking Diego to imagine that he could say what he always wanted to say to his stepfather (Mac). After this activity Diego began to feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, everything from then on out got much better.

I learned a lot about the struggle people go through when their abused and how it can really effect their lives if they don't talk about it. Also i learned how much impact not having a father figure in someones life can be.

An excellent book really draws you in and you can feel the pain Diego is suffering. And how desperate he is for a male figure in his life.

Recommended for grades 9-12 and adults


KH in Greenville