Troubled Cesar leaves his gangbanging life behindin Los Angeles to help his mother reconnect withher estranged family in rural Alaska, where shehopes they both can carve out a fresh start. WhenCesar arrives, he meets his college dropout cousin,Go-Boy, who believes he's part of a good worldconspiracy and who bets Cesar he will stay inAlaska for a year.Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same is theaccount of two unlikely cousins and their paralleljourneys through guilt and loneliness into thebonds of friendship. Set in a location like no other,the setting inevitably becomes its own character,pushing and pulling against Cesar and Go-boy asthey struggle with the quirky challenges of life inUnalakleet, Alaska. With his absent father and anolder brother in prison for a gang murder, Cesaris badly in need of a male role-model and theacceptance of friends and family.In his insightful and thoroughly engaging debut,Mattox Roesch has created a fresh, appealingvoice along with a wonderful cast of characters.Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same tellsthe surprising story of a young man finding his wayand his place in a world that can seem both toolarge and too small. What Cesar finally discovers isthe power of friendship and the potential positivestrength that springs from a tight-knit community.He learns the ways in which becoming a part of thatcommunity, though at times scary and restrictive,can also be fulfilling and even exhilarating.