Useful Fools

In this gripping and poignant coming-of-age novel, two teenagers discover the power of love and resilience in the face of adversity.

“The Romeo and Juliet love story will grab some readers; others will be drawn to the haunting, intense issues of politics and justice and the character of a loving teen so desperate that he joins murderous rebels.”—Booklist, starred review

Alonso, a dirt-poor teenager living in Peru, helps out at the public health clinic his mother, Magdalena, opened so that he can see Rosa, the beautiful and wealthy daughter of the clinic’s doctor. Alonso and Rosa are both shattered when Magdalena is assassinated by the Shining Path, a revolutionary terrorist organization.

Left with no hope, Alonso is recruited into the same group that killed his mother. Rose fights to break free of her own safe and wealthy life, journeying into Alonso’s dangerous new world to somehow help what is left of his family.