What could make a young boy jump into a ring and challenge a fighting bull? How could a boy no more than sixteen stand there calmly and face death? Manuel, the "child of fire," is a boy whose whole world prompts him to take risks, time and time again. He lives just north of the Mexican border, the leader of a teenage Chicano gang that vies with another gang for power. The book is filled with friendly competitions and bitter struggles. It is filled with robust, hearty living and with some dying. As the rival gangs go their different ways, Parole Officer Delaney watches and helps where he can.

From the reviews:

"a moving and dramatic novel."

School Library Journal

"It is difficult to say enough in praise of this book."

Curriculum Advisory Service

"contemporary parable ... with a self-contained dignity."

Children's Literature Review

"The consistent and distinctive first-person style of Scott O'Dell's Child of Fire brings vividly to life an adolescent Chicano boy, seen through the eyes of a parole officer."

Children and Books, 8th edition

Child of Fire's awards:

New York Times Outstanding Book