The stories that make up this brief collection, when read together, almost constitute a novella as they narrate the lives of Andrés Stella and his preadolescent the Italian Fuzzaro, the Japanese Uzu, chubby Noriega, and the Dulce brothers. Against the vividly-portrayed backdrop of the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo, the boys engage in rights of initiation as they prepare to enter the adult world. Author Fabián Casas creates a fully-realized world that he imbues with a subtle humor, an intense lyricism and—most importantly—an undeniable authenticity.