The Confesional, by J.L. Powers is a very interesting book about murder, racism, and life on the Mexico-America border in El Paso, Texas. The book is told from the perspective of 6 different characters who all attend Jesuit High School, a school for boys on the American side of the border. At Jesuit, there is a line of division between Mexicans and Americans, and when Mackenzie Malone is murdered, this line becomes even more prominent. At school, Mac can't take Bernie bothering him anymore, so they fight. That night, Mac is murdered. The next day, Alex Gold, a boy who is so invisible, no one at Jesuit knows who he is, goes missing. Everyone wants to know who killed Mac, they want to know who gold is, and in the midst of all this, there are racial and drug issues.
The Confessional is a very interesing book about racism and how it can divide people. The novel makes a point of proving that "Everybody's guilty of something." This book challenged me to think about what I would do if I was in the same situation as any of these boys. It was a very powerful read. The ending is something no one would ecpect and I would definetely recommend this book to mature readers.
Content: The Confessional has a content rating of 3 because it contains violence, drugs, and sexual content.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: East Islip, New York United States
