I almost gave up on this book twice. I got through it, but only because I wanted to see what the conclusions the Author drew amounted to. This is worth reading, but read critically, there is as much the Author hides as what is revealed.
This is the story of Brenda Paz. Paz is a gang member and criminal who operated with a juvenile mind that failed to weigh consequences. The Author details how it was mostly loneliness, that drove outcomes. Paz was a spoiled kid who victimized many more people than this book dedicated time to. She ultimately became a victim of her own criminal actions. The Author was obviously trying to paint Paz as a crusader for goodness, a victim of a broken system, a delightful youth dealt a terrible hand. There is no way to hide the facts though, the Author had to admit that Paz had a great family, numerous opportunities, and lived on other people's money and goodwill without ever providing anything but more criminal behavior.
The Mara Salvatrucha is a very well organized street gang. Violent thieves, rapists, and dopers. Paz did provide information, but no more than many other informants. I just could not get past the failure of the Author to assign the responsibility of all of the criminal acts to Paz. None of her victims, or the victims of others in her presence, were given much notice. They were just names.
This is a great book to read if you believe that crime doesn't really affect you. The random vehicle thefts, the attacks on witnesses, the government's multiple resources for criminals, we all pay for bad guys everyday that we pay taxes.