There are better Brazilian books than these! I am still glad to be in the list though =]
Captains from the Sand - Jorge Amado. He takes you to the life of street boys with no mother nor father, definetly one of the best books I've ever read.
O Cortiço - Aluízio de Azevedo. An extreme naturalist, he shows in great matter how your surrondings shape you (in this book, the carachters).