I loved this book as a kid so I wanted to revisit it. I found it to be overly simplistic and unrealistic. Ricky was annoying and repetitive; why is being "a quitter" so earth shatteringly terrible anyway? Solidad was the most vibrant and interesting character of everyone.

it was ok

I thought it was a very good book, but a little to...simple... for my taste.

Wow not at all what I expected

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book to my children but it's not as scary as it sounds. It's clean and safe to read to a 5th Grader and up. I'm 1/2 Mexican and enjoying reading about about a kid living on the streets in Mexico getting justice on his own against gang members.

I read this book when I was about thirteen and it changed my life forever. It's harsh portrayal of Mexico through the eyes of a teen was an amazing ride to a world I knew nothing about.

This book is very suspenseful. One thing I don't like is that the climax is at the end. But the suspense is why I gave it a four star. Overall, it's a pretty good book. Also, if you like airplanes, this is a great book for you.

In this book, Sparrow Hawk Red, by Ben Mikaelsen, the main character is about a boy named Ricky. In this book Ricky is a secret pilot., When these D.E.A. agents came over to his house to ask Ricky's dad if he could steal the plane, Ricky found out his mom got killed by Mexican drug dealers, Ricky's mom wasn’t supposed to die the Mexican drug dealers were trying to kill his dad, by ruining there car and she died, Ricky was informed by agents that Benito used to work with before he retired. Ricky also overheard that stealing their plane would be revenge to them. So of course Ricky wants to steal the plane to avenge his mom. He ditched school to go to Mexico. On his journey to steal the plane he bought burritos, the lady at the stand thought he was a ratero so Ricky flashed his money and some kids saw all the money that he had and they chased him down in an alley and beat him up and stole his money and shoes. Later on, when Ricky woke up he felt like he was being watched, watched by a girl. When he was walking Ricky was being fallowed by a girl named Soledad, that day Ricky was sleeping in an alley on a cardboard box when Soledad comes over and gives him food and makes him shoes, later that day Ricky leaves her to go to were the plane was on his journey Ricky sees someone that looks familiar that he thinks is from the D.E.A., the man snapped a picture of him. On his way to Rancho Camacho there were guards guarding to plane that said, “ I’ll kill you!” after that he got scared and ran for his life. Later that day Ricky and Soledad went to make money by Picking plants and selling them to a lady because the lady gives those plants for people that are sick, Also they were washing cars with dirty water but none of their customers noticed. Follow all that hard work they found shoe-shine polish in the trash can that was almost empty but she still shined shoes and made money. Following that they broke down one of the D.E.A. in their car and flattened the tire and so he had to call the other D.E.A. agents to come help, also Ricky and Soledad found 320$, red jacket, a picture of himself, and a whole bunch of food. When Ricky found that picture of himself he knew that they were coming to save him. After that Ricky had an idea of what he should do to get the plane he got a bike and said that he the taco runner for the people at Rancho Camacho and when he got back he put these plants in the burritos and tacos which made them go to the bathroom. Read the book to find out the rest.

I found this book to be an amazing story of a boy avenging his mother's murder. During the book he goes through great pain and fear for revenge. Risking his life and living on the streets of mariposa all to get revenge on a drug cartel. From his nice home to the streets, the author adds twists and turns as he tries to steal a plane from a cruel and unforgiving enemy. In this expertly written story Ricky Diaz must defy, drug dealers, the U.S government and even his own father to get back at the people who killed his mother.

This was a favorite in middle school, and as I find myself working with middle schoolers, I'm trying to find quality literature for them.
Pros:
Exciting plot
Some Spanish words
Encourages acceptance of other people/cultures
Reminds readers that what they see on the outside may not be the same as what's on the inside

Cons:
Not a particularly challenging read

I'd highly recommend this book for use in class or for fun reading. It's especially good for kids who don't enjoy reading because it's fast paced and exciting.

6th grade lit circle. Ricky is learning to fly. Dad is a pilot and is teaching him before he is old enough for a license. Dad was a DEA agent, but retired after Mom dies in a car accident. Ricky learns Dad thinks mom was killed by a cartel. Ricky takes on a dangerous mission that his dad passed on, to avenge his mother's death. He meets the homeless community of children.

I thought that this book was fantastic, 5 star! It has a great plot. Ben Mikaelsen did a great job writing this book. Sparrow Hawk Red is about a young boy named Ricky that is very good at flying planes. In this story Ricky goes on a mission to steal a plane from Drug Smugglers in Mexico. Ricky runs into many problems in his mission. I would reccomend this book to everyone. It is easy to read, and a great story.