Falling Short

Content Warning: This section contains depictions of bullying at school and a parent with a substance use disorder.

Isaac Castillo is a sixth grader living in Santa Ana, California with his mother and grandmother. He is one of the story’s two protagonists and narrates the chapters that bear his name. Isaac has a history of failure in school, but he is a talented basketball player. He is a popular boy concerned with keeping up his reputation and looking “cool” in front of his peers. Even when he realizes that shooting the ball “granny” style gives a player better odds, for instance, he will not do it himself because “it’s also the most effective way of getting made fun of” (148). Despite caring so much about his peers’ reactions, however, Isaac never wavers in his support of his best friend, Marco. He sits with Marco’s friends in the cafeteria, for example, even when others in his social circle tease him about it. Isaac sees himself and Marco as brothers and is comfortable sharing his most private thoughts with Marco. He is willing to sacrifice his time and even compromise his goals to help Marco with basketball.