I wrote The Wild Ones with memories of my adolescence as part of a violent community in my hometown of Monterrey, and also with the memory of a very complicated area on the outskirts of my city that I got to know around that time.

That place is called El Peñón, located at the foothills of Cerro de la Silla, an emblematic mountain of my city. The houses are clustered on the slopes, next to ravines, among the rocks. Poverty is severe there, and the needs are many.

It's an ideal place for organized crime gangs involved in drug trafficking to recruit young people into their ranks. But at the same time, it’s a happy place; people live as they please, social relationships are as good and bad as anywhere else, and there are also boys and girls who, despite the poverty, choose to study and get ahead.

The Wild Ones tells the story of a boy at a crossroads: his mother is unjustly imprisoned, and he must find a way to get her out—either through the regular judicial system, which offers nothing, or by joining forces with the drug trafficking gangs, who at least promise to protect his mother in prison.

And it's also about the main character, Efraín, and the relationship with his siblings and the choices they make along the way. As this unfolds, the novel portrays the city, what it's like to live in that area, and the struggle to escape poverty—all seen from two perspectives: the raw, real view of the drug world among young people, and a festive, casual, joyful view that shows what it's like to live and push forward from that situation.

The Wild Ones will take you through a world beyond the bleak context of Latin America's large metropolitan cities, leading you on a journey that is real, rough and sad, but also as joyful and hopeful as books can be.

Also, I'm thrilled to be part of HopeRoad and to have the novel reach an English-speaking audience with the support of an English PEN Award! Thanks to my editor, Rosemarie, and my translator, Claire, for everything! Time to celebrate.

By Antonio Ramos Revllias

November 2024, Mexico

The Wild Ones was published October 24th 2024

You can find your copy here.