I have to care about a character or two in order to be grabbed and held by a book.  Oscar is frustrating because he has brains and sensitivity but can't set a worthwhile goal. His focus is getting a girlfriend.  Duh.  Lose weight.  He had no support from his mother, a trashy sister and a street talking friend named Yunior.  The footnotes were very distracting and should have been summarized and blended in with the story.  Although my name is Trujillo, I must have slept through history classes or US classrooms just don't dwell on Dominican Republic history.  Quite interesting actually and worth reading about in a non fiction book.  The writer obviously has a chip on his shoulder with his repeated use of the n word.