Father Greg and the Homeboys: The Extraordinary Journey of Father Boyle and His Work with the Latino Gangs of East L.A.

This is a marvelous account of the work of Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who arrived at Dolores Mission in the heavily Hispanic area of East Los Angeles in 1986, assigned there for a six-year stay. In that time, he established a rapport with youthful gang members that no other adult had ever achieved, for he saw them as vulnerable children and not as murderous thugs. He won their affection not only by providing tough love but also by understanding that all wanted jobs and/or money to escape the barrio. In 1990, freelancer Fremon sought him out and, for two years, was his shadow and finally a convert to his philosophy, which he lived as well as preached, often risking his life to end gang battles. At the end of his assignment, Father Boyle was told by his order that he would be assigned elsewhere. Community reaction bordered on the violent until both his church and his order grudgingly relented. He is now back in his neighborhood. Fremon is as much an advocate for the kids of East L.A. as she is their chronicler. By interpolating their first-person accounts of their encounters with Father Boyle, she allows them to tell part of the story of a remarkable man. (July)