“Manuel Luis Martinez takes us into a world that exists all over this country but is rarely portrayed so deeply--the decidedly unmagical realm of struggling Mexican Americans. In Drift, he delivers the trials of his young hero with honesty and passion and some of the best writing about work I've ever read.” —Stewart O'Nan, author of Wish You Were Here

“Forget the sociology for a minute, Drift's great achievment is the dear and moving portrayal of a grandmother and grandson who love each other profoundly. Such affection is just about the hardest art to pull off, but Manuel Luis Martinez makes it seem easy.” —Victor LaValle, author of Slapboxing with Jesus and The Ecstatic

“Drift is the searing tale of a teenage boy torn apart by his longing for his broken family and the demands of his coming adulthood. The book is a sustained and beautiful triumph of voice -- a voice that cries out in every line with anguish, anger, and love.” —Jonathan Ames, author of The Extra Man

“This novel is necessary. Manuel Luis Martinez takes us into a world that exists all over this country but is rarely portrayed so deeply--the decidedly unmagical world of struggling Mexican-Americans. In Drift, he delivers the trials of his young hero with honesty and passion and some of the best writing about work I've ever read.” —Stewart O'Nan, author of A Prayer for the Dying

“A comical, lyrical, and urgent force of a novel. No matter how lost, abandoned, or unloved life makes us feel, Drift leaves us seeing the glass half full.” —Ernesto Quinonez, author of Bodega Dreams