Name: The New David Espinoza
ISBN: 9780062489883

Fred Aceves

Obsessed with the idea that he is not muscular enough and tired of being bullied, David, age seventeen, begins using steroids, endangering his relationships with family and friends.

The New David Espinoza

Hannah DCamp

This was like watching a slow-motion train wreck.

I appreciate the author telling this story. It's one I never considered to this extent. I'm aware that body-image issues are a thing for men just as they are for women, but it was still surprising to see the facts laid out in front of me like this. So often men's health is ignored or treated like a joke, which as someone with two brothers and a father and a number of male cousins I think is disgusting. People may say that the body dysmorphia is down to the patriarchy, but I find myself wondering if feminism isn't partly to blame. I think that take is too hot for Goodreads, so I won't be elaborating much here 😅 That is the take I'm running with though

I think what was most painful/successful about this was David's inner monologues. He doesn't sound "crazy" or obsessed necessarily, and it seems completely rational to him. It was absolutely chilling to read his thoughts from an outside perspective, knowing that he was getting things twisted up in his mind. Heartbreaking too, because I could see where things with his Dad and with Karina were going to end up, and I wasn't sure what the breaking point would be.

Speaking of David's dad, he was fantastic. It's rare to see good Dads in media - either the Dad is stupid, or mean, or uncaring, or some other unpleasant descriptor. But Mr. Espinoza knows what a man should be, and that was a breath of fresh air in the midst of David's increasingly messed-up mindset. Honestly, it was a breath of fresh air in the midst of real life too, because so often nowadays men are told that they don't have to protect or provide for the ones they love. David even says it himself at one point - "women can do that too," so he believes that his physical body is the only thing that sets him apart.

I'm not sure what to rate this book. It had a lot going for it. It was by no means a fun read, but I think the story is a necessary one (if nothing else, it was necessary for the author himself to write it). The language is too strong and too frequent for my taste, and I get that Aceves was going for authenticity, but I think it went a bit too far. I'm not sure if I would recommend this to a teen. Maybe if I thought they were struggling with something like this and needed the wake-up call, but I don't know that this book is for everyone.

Katie

This book has an extremely important message for its younger audience, but I often felt like that's all this book was: a message. I do find myself agreeing with other reviewers that I wish Aceves would do more showing rather than outright telling. However, I was overall impressed with the depiction of the struggle with body dysmorphia and mental health issues in the book.

The twist at the end threw me for a loop. I was not expecting that! (view spoiler)[Even though it was very sad, it did make the book a lot more interesting. But I did feel that things wrapped up too quickly afterwards with David facing very little to no repercussions for his actions. I would love to have seen the ending expanded on in a bit more detail. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. It is a crucial conversation we need to be having with young men, especially when everything on TV, social media, and in magazines is edited out of proportion and downright unattainable.

The New David Espinoza

Reviews

Highlights