Taking Sides

Gary Soto’s Taking Sides was originally published in 1991. Soto was born in Fresno, California, in 1952. He is the son of Mexican American parents and grew up working the fields in the San Joaquin Valley. His adolescence and the way he grew up had a profound impact on the way he writes about cultural identity, friendship, and loyalty. In Taking Sides, Lincoln Mendoza, the book’s 12-year-old protagonist, has recently moved with his mother from San Francisco’s urban Mission District to the suburban city of Sycamore, where Lincoln joins his new school’s basketball team. As the game against his old school draws near, Lincoln is faced with questions of where his loyalty lies and who he is.

This study guide refers to the Clarion-Harcourt first paperback edition, published in 1992.

Plot Summary

About three months ago, Lincoln and his mother moved to a suburb of San Francisco called Sycamore, which is 10 miles away from the Mission District where they used to live. Lincoln’s mother is a graphic artist whose firm has become successful enough for her to afford a small house in the nice neighborhood. She moved Lincoln and herself there after their old house was broken into, though nothing was stolen except the TV and the stereo.

Lincoln is Hispanic American, and he misses the diversity of the Mission District, which was home not only to other Hispanic Americans but also to Korean Americans and African Americans. Lincoln also misses his friend, Tony, and his former school, Franklin Junior High. Lincoln feels out of place in his new neighborhood and at his new school, Columbus Junior High, where he is one of two people of color on the basketball team. Columbus and Franklin are slated to play against one another soon, and Lincoln does not know how he can play against his old team.

Lincoln’s only friend in Sycamore is James, who lives across the street and is a second-stringer on the Columbus basketball team. Through James, Lincoln meets Monica, a Hispanic American girl who also used to attend Franklin. Lincoln and Monica grow closer, and he eventually asks her to play basketball with him.

One day, Tony calls Lincoln and asks him to visit the Mission District. When Lincoln arrives, Tony tells him that he has found the stolen TV at a thrift shop. Tony and Lincoln go to the thrift store, and Tony angrily confronts the store owner, seeking revenge and justice for his friend. Lincoln, though, sees that the store owner is sick and elderly; he couldn’t possibly break into a house, let alone carry a TV. When Tony refuses to back off, Lincoln leaves the store and walks until he is in front of his old school. Feeling estranged from everything, he wanders the school until he finds the locker belonging to first girlfriend, Vicky. He opens the locker door and sees the same geography book he has been studying. For a moment, he feels close to her again.

The day of Lincoln’s date with Monica comes, and the two meet at the court to play. They have a great time until Lincoln falls and injures his knee. When Lincoln returns home, he finds Roy, his mother’s new boyfriend, already there. Lincoln has already decided that he dislikes Roy, so he is surprised when Roy tells him that he played basketball for Franklin in the 1970s. In fact, he played against Yesutis, who played for Columbus and is now Roy’s coach. Yesutis is mean and gruff to all his players, but he picks on Lincoln in particular, leading Lincoln to believe that Yesutis is racist. Roy confirms that Yesutis was the same as a boy.

Yesutis has no sympathy for Lincoln’s injured knee at practice and wants him to play as if he weren’t injured. Lincoln confronts the coach in front of the team, revealing what Roy told him about Yesutis yelling racial slurs at the Franklin team during a 1970 game. Lincoln leaves practice with Yesutis telling him that he won’t play in the upcoming game. That night, Lincoln’s mother tells Lincoln he got some mail from Tony. Inside the envelope, Lincoln finds $4—payment for a bet Tony and Lincoln had made. Though they haven’t talked since their argument, Lincoln knows there’s hope for their friendship because of this gesture.

Lincoln is all nerves on game day even though he knows he won’t be playing. He sees supporters for both teams funneling into the gymnasium: his friends from Franklin, his mother and Roy, and Monica. The game starts and Franklin takes a quick lead. Coach Yesutis becomes angrier and angrier with his team and the referee, but Lincoln is secretly happy that Franklin is winning. During halftime, Lincoln leaves the locker room to talk with his old coach and team.

The second half begins and Columbus is still struggling. Yesutis yells for Lincoln to get in the game, and realizes that he keep his cultural and ethnic identity without having to live where he used to live. He decides that he will play for himself and that he doesn’t have to pick a side based on school pride.

Columbus loses the game, but Lincoln does not care; he played well and reconnected with his past and current teammates, including Tony. Franklin’s coach, Mr. Ramos, invites Lincoln, his mother, and Roy to join the Franklin team for pizza. Toward the night’s end, Tony tells Lincoln he went back to the thrift store and bought the TV, which will be Lincoln’s Christmas present. They make a new bet on the outcome of a basketball game taking place that night.

Lincoln wakes early the next morning. He calls Tony about the $4 he owes him based on the outcome of the game, and Tony says he can come over and bring the money next Saturday. Then, Lincoln calls Monica. Lincoln’s mother starts her hair dryer as he begins to speak, which Lincoln reflects is for the best: “Lincoln had things to say to [Monica] no one else should hear” (135).