The Boy Kings of Texas: A Memoir

This gripping coming-of-age story set in Brownsville, Texas, provides a poignant exploration of the complex bond between a young boy and his older brother as they navigate the harsh realities of growing up in a border town.

With vivid descriptions of the characters and their world, Martinez sheds light on the traumas and pleasures of childhood in South Texas, where children are traded like commerce, physical altercations solve problems, drugs are rampant, and people depend on the family witch doctor for advice.

Through its lyrical and gritty narrative, this book offers a powerful examination of the consequences when different cultures collide on the banks of a dying river.