Those Dog Days

Adolescent angst is taking its toll on Lupe as he deals with his life as a shy, introverted, overweight, half white, half Mexican-American teen.

"Just another stupid Friday," he writes on his journal as he ponders about the meaning of his life and whether the boring summer of 2003 will be just another waste of time on his miserable life.

It is a rollercoaster full of teen hormones as Lupe explores his sexual fantasies and frustrations, spends rebellious Friday nights spying on the skinny dipping neighbor from across his window while trying to control his pot smoking friend Julio.

Those Dog Days is no romp chasing novel, it’s a coming-of-age account on life, told with honesty through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old, struggling to juggle a fractured relationship with a father on his way to Iraq, the workaholic mother that he hardly sees, the arrogant jackass boyfriend she is dating, and the arrival of the college age girl chasing her own dreams that will make it a summer that will change his life.