The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

by Francisco X. Stork

Book Overview

One is dying of cancer. The other's planning a murder. When Pancho arrives at St. Anthony's Home, he knows his time there will be short: If his plans succeed, he'll soon be arrested for the murder of his sister's killer. But then he's assigned to help D.Q., whose brain cancer has slowed neither his spirit nor his mouth. D.Q. tells Pancho all about his Death Warrior's Manifesto, which will help him to live out his last days fully--ideally, he says,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0545151333
• ISBN13: 9780545151337
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Strong YA offering that's hard to stop reading

We meet Pablo as he's arriving at St. Anthony's, an orphanage ran by monks. His sister Rose recently died in a hotel room and he's been trying to convince the police that foul play was involved. Rose was mentally challenged and she wouldn't be with a man in a motel room. Pablo's assigned to DQ, a young man in a wheelchair who needs assistance to get around. Reluctantly, Pablo learns this is probably DQ's last summer--he's got cancer and is not expected to live more than six months. Pablo's working on Rose's case every spare minute and DQ is writing a book, The Manifesto of the Death Warrior. Oddly, their causes mesh and the two form a strong bond that won't break even after the transitory relationship. The book's surprisingly easy to read, but it's going to be hard to forget. This is definitely one novel you're going to want to reserve a several hours to read because you're not going to want to put it down. Characters and situation are both compelling and the writing is straightforward and from the heart. Rebecca Kyle, May 2010

A look at life from a Death Warrior's point of view

On the surface Pancho and DQ are opposites. Pancho is a seventeen year old orphan who is so filled with anger at the death of his father and sister that he can't see anything around him. He is truly blinded by his overwhelming desire to avenge the death of his sister. DQ is a teen who is dying of cancer. These two meet up and soon discover that they actually have a lot in common. They are both searching for hope; and both are coming to terms with their coming deaths (DQ's actual death and Pancho's sacrifice of himself for his sister). DQ's Death Warrior Manifesto is his struggle to accept his fate, and his desire to share it with Pancho is what gifts Pancho with exactly what he needs to move on with his life. There are plenty of things to discuss and think about here. This is a rich layered story, that while not much for action, is full of things to ponder and characters to revel in. The author takes an unflinching, unsentimental look at death that sets this book apart from the many other teen books that deal with death and dying. This will no doubt have big appeal to older teen boys who maybe don't consider their own mortality that often. It is beautifully written and will leave readers perhaps considering their own manifesto.

A meaningful read

At seventeen, Pancho has decided the last thing he needs to do with his life: kill the man he thinks responsible for the death of his sister. It's not so simple, though...first he has to figure out who exactly the man is, how to find him, and how to get past the annoying, aggravatingly happy D.Q., another teen boy with a mission of his own: live life to the fullest in his last months...before he dies of brain cancer. And...honestly...I can't do justice to the plot here. Throw in some conversations about life, death, faith, love. Mix up with heart-wrenching backgrounds, wise children, foolish adults, and sucking every drop of marrow from life. As my little synopsis probably makes clear, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is one of those fathoms-deep, meaningful stories that you rarely come across in YA lit. It is also an extremely subtle story--almost too subtle for my taste (the ending didn't feel wrapped-up enough for me), yet I love the way it left me thinking after I finished it. I can guarantee that it will make you question the way you're living your life, embrace the beauty of every day, and appreciate things you never thought to notice. You will never forget Pancho and D.Q. or the friends they make on their journey--Francisco Stork is a master at character and relationship development, and these aspects of the story are truly what make it shine. Even every description, although technically all of them are extremely basic and simply worded, serves to develop character--and does so perfectly. As a bit of a warning, this is a very difficult book to read...certainly not in actual pacing or readability, but simply because it delves into topics and a world that are hard to be in. This is not a story to be read casually, and it is certainly for mature readers who can handle its issues. Yet it is a beautiful book, and it is an important book.

Characters You Won't Want To Part With

It's easy for a plot-driven book to beguile its readers, but a character-driven book? That's much more of a rarity, not to mention a blessing. Francisco X. Stork's THE LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS is just such a book -- you reach the last page despite yourself because, truth be told, you hate to bid farewell to the characters he has created. Pancho is an angry young man whose fury with life becomes confused by circumstances. He's a tough 17-year-old kid who knows how to fight and even loves the release of hitting and being hit. Worse still, in the course of the last year he's lost his father to natural causes, his mentally-handicapped sister to murder, and life as he knew it to an orphanage that he longs to escape. Enter the "Death Warrior": Daniel Quentin (D.Q.), a precocious 17-year-old with one year to die (because we're all dying, he insists) due to brain cancer. D.Q. meets Pancho's anger and cynicism with unrelenting optimism and hope to the point where Pancho becomes confused and, yes, even more angry at times. It's no small task, but Stork creates D.Q.'s character with deft strokes which dodge sentimentality and embrace gritty, realistic humor. The exchanges between these boys are typical of teenagers with insults, brutal honesty, and grudging respect. In a reverse of expectations (something this book offers in spades), it is D.Q. telling Pancho to stop his whining. Writing a manifesto about "Death Warriors," D.Q. creates a fantasy world of ninja-like goals where death must be accepted, invincibility must be dismissed, and love must be used as a weapon until the Grim Reaper's embrace can no longer be dodged. Pancho has to listen to this nonsense because he is paid to serve as D.Q.'s assistant. This job is one major headache for Pancho, whose less-ideal goals include hunting down his sister's killer, vigilante-style, and murdering him in cold blood. Stork weaves in compelling complications. There's the beautiful Marisol, whom D.Q. idealizes as a romantic lover who might accept him despite the cancer. When Pancho starts to fall under her allure as well, he meets an opponent he has more difficulty in knocking out -- a love which can only make him "soft" and distract him from his murderous mission. And, at the children's hospital in Albuquerque where Pancho has traced his sister's murderer, we meet Josie, an irrepressible girl with leukemia who says unfiltered whatever she thinks and figures out, and she thinks and figures out a lot -- most of it embarrassing. Meanwhile, there are tense episodes of violence as Pancho cannot seem to quench his thirst for fighting. At times you wonder if HIS days will be shorter than D.Q.'s, whether from mixing it up with lowlifes on the city streets or from his doomed mission to murder a murderer. This is a rare treat in the YA genre: a novel that blends philosophy with pugilism, cancer with candor, and anger with attraction. The ending is unflinchingly realistic and the book destined t

outstanding book for teens who like realistic fiction

I was so eager to read this new book by the author of Marcelo in the Real World, which I thought was one of the best books of 2009. I was not disappointed by this new novel, which like Marcelo in the Real World, deals with profound moral issues in a way that still manages to be entertaining and not heavy-handed. Also, with the plethora of fantasy titles that are coming out these days, it is refreshing to read something that is not about fairies or vampires, but rather about real people dealing with real problems. In this story, our hero, Pancho, has had a hard life--his father and disabled sister have both died--his father in an accident, and his sister, possibly murdered. Pancho is obsessed with finding out what actually happened to his sister and exacting revenge on whoever was responsible. Because he is still a minor, Pancho is placed in an orphanage of sorts, where he is assigned to help take care of D.Q., another resident who happens to be dying of cancer. D.Q. is determined to live his final days to the fullest, even if it means refusing treatment that may prolong his life, and is writing his thoughts in his own Death Warrior Manifesto. Pancho is drawn into the drama of D.Q.'s life, where the two of them struggle with love--with both of them falling for the same girl who helps out at the cancer center-- death, and faith. This is another outstanding novel from Francisco X. Stork--one that readers will not soon forget.