I like to think that every parent wants and intends to do their best to raise their kids. Some may fall short. Some may get sidetracked. But at the end of the day, I want to believe that all—or at least most—parents mean well. That doesn't stop them from messing up, falling short, or breaking promises. And it certainly doesn't stop them from leaving marks on their children's lives, for better or for worse.

The Broke Hearts delves into generational expectations in a unique narrative that employs three different styles: prose, an autobiographical screenplay, and scenes played out themed to Lotería cards. At the center of it all is Danny, a college art student desperate for meaning in the wake of death, illness, and war touching his life from all sides.

Danny's life is bookended by two others: those of his two school friends, Juan and JD. Juan was gunned down years ago, his house now a run-down tribute to the lost young man. JD enlisted in the military and is soon to be deployed. Weighed down by past and present grief, Danny doesn't have time to make sense of art school homework. But just as he gets a hand up from an understanding professor, another tragedy strikes: Danny's dad Daniel (a.k.a. Sarge) has to go into the hospital for heart surgery.

The Broke Hearts is short, sweet, and fragmented: a shuffled narrative of past and present, all coming together in a surprisingly cohesive way. The formatting changes as story beats fly in and out: a scene from JD's screenplay here, a quick date there. A flashback, followed by a different flashback. All the pieces fall into place out of order, and yet in the exact proper order, making for a perfectly paced story.

Mendez weaves a tale of a young adulthood touched by tragedy, expectations, the positives of one's culture and the negatives of other people's take on said culture. And in the midst of it is a touching statement on the nature of art: where it comes from, what it can do, and how it begs to be made in our darkest times.

The Broke Hearts is an uncommon young adult piece in this era: unpretentious and unconcerned with tropes, it simply seeks to make its story heard. And bookending it is a story from a generation prior, of a son who becomes a father and, deep down, just wants to get it right.

The Broke Hearts goes on sale October 3.