Heather Murtagh/Daily Journal Matt de la Pena -- author of "Ball Don't Lie," "Mexican WhiteBoy," and "We Were Here" — signs a copy of his book for a Capuchino High School student after giving a talk in the school auditorium in San Bruno Friday.

Once de la Pena decided to be a writer, he also decided he wanted to make someone cry with his work. That e-mail meant he had reached this goal. An accomplishment that wasn’t on the path de la Pena saw himself taking earlier in life. The author shared his life story thus far with students at Capuchino High School on Friday as part of the school’s ongoing efforts to connect students with the authors of books they are reading. For some students it was a chance to meet the producer of work they enjoyed.

Linda Henry, teacher advisor of the student book club You Say Read? We Say Party! For over three years, works with Shannon Grant and Jennifer Laughran from Books Inc. to promote literacy at Capuchino by bringing in authors of young adult literature. Students have the opportunity to chat directly with authors about his or her work. Henry was particularly excited to host de la Pena given that he’s young and also a minority, a trait he shares with much of Capuchino’s student body.

For Henry, the hope is to get students to find a joy in reading while relating to those producing the work.

De la Pena was not a reader growing up. And he was not shy about that detail.

He asked students if they were reluctant readers, a question most students responded to in the affirmative. A few read for pleasure, but not many. De la Pena shared he also began not reading well. The child of teenage parents, he was not introduced to books early in life since his parents were often working. Teachers wanted to fail de la Pena in third grade noting he couldn’t read. Thankfully he was able to progress in school, but the idea of being held back stuck with de la Pena who then thought he wasn’t a good student. Instead of academics, de la Pena put his efforts into basketball. Practicing daily was supported by his mother as long as his grades remained at a 3.0, a GPA de la Pena purposely never surpassed.

Maintaining the grades and the love of basketball paid off for de la Pena, who earned a scholarship to the University of Pacific in Stockton.

This was a remarkable feat for many reasons, not the least of which was that de la Pena came from poverty with parents who had not gone to college.

A line from a movie had always stuck with de la Pena, “I grew up in absolute poverty and therefore absolute freedom.” It was a saying he did not understand until he signed scholarship papers. That day, de la Pena’s father pulled him aside to tell him he’s a success. No one thought he would go to college.

The talk was inspiring to de la Pena who thought, if he was already successful, he could be anything. That’s when de la Pena decided to be a professional basketball player. Pro aspirations were smashed when he came up against Steve Nash, who plays as a point guard for the Phoenix Suns. De la Pena, also a point guard, was against Nash while the two were in college. De la Pena noted the two were similar in size and therefore, he should be able to take him. University of Pacific squeaked out a win, but when de la Pena compared his stats to those of Nash he realized why people spoke so highly of the competitor.

While icing his ankles after the game, de la Pena decided to be a poet. A job with little monetary possibilities, de la Pena watched his poems grow to small stories and finally into novels. He has three novels; his most recent “We Were Here” hit stands a couple weeks ago.

That ambition to write occurred after reading “The Color Purple” while traveling, a suggestion from a teacher. At first, de la Pena found himself not wanting to finish the book. Around page 50, for the first time in his life, de la Pena stopped watching the page numbers. He was engrossed, and stayed up the following evening until 4 in the morning to finish. Doing so almost brought tears to his eyes.

“For the guys in the audience, I want you to know, I didn’t cry,” he said, explaining how it doesn’t count as crying if your eyes water up but no tears actually fall. De la Pena avoided this by looking up.

“I’m not a smart writer. I’m a hardworking writer,” he said.

With work came expectations de la Pena set for himself. One such expectation was the fuss others would make on the day his first book was put out on shelves. Waking to find his roommates were not preparing him food and strippers were not waiting at the door, de la Pena went to a local bookstore to watch someone buy his book. That goal became smaller, maybe someone touching the book was enough, after hours of waiting. Finally, de la Pena bought his own book. These days he waits until someone passes his book and offers to purchase it for them.

On Friday, senior Diego Chamorro benefited from de la Pena’s tendency to give his book to others.

Chamorro mentioned having read de la Pena’s other books after the assembly. He hadn’t realized the author was speaking at the school and had left his copy at home. Nor did Chamorro have the cash to purchase the new release. De la Pena did it for him.

Chamorro confessed later to being a reluctant reader himself. Although he enjoyed de la Pena’s work, Chamorro found himself not sure if he wanted to finish the book when he began reading. Doing so meant he not only enjoyed a story, but found things within the story to which he related. Seeing de la Pena in person brought a new level to the book for Chamorro who really liked seeing his personality.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.