By Meg Medina
- Age Range: 9 - 12 years
- Grade Level: 4 - 7
- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Candlewick (September 11, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 076369049X
- ISBN-13: 978-0763690496
Thoughtful, strong-willed
sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and
everyone in between in a resonant new novel from Meg Medina.
Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would
be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters,
Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida,
because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t
have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service
to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on
the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci
becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy.
Things aren't going well at home,
either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting
strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and
getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going
on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at
school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author
Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines
middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.
Review
Medina’s breathtaking coming-of-age
story features a strong, deeply honest protagonist whose insights will make
readers laugh, as well as dynamic secondary characters that reveal glimmers of
profound depth. Medina capably gets to the heart of middle school experiences
in this engrossing story of a kid growing into herself. A must read.
—Booklist (starred review)
Medina writes about the joys of
multigenerational home life (a staple of the Latinx community) with a touching,
humorous authenticity. Merci's relationship with Lolo is heartbreakingly
beautiful and will particularly strike readers who can relate to the close,
chaotic, and complicated bonds of live-in grandparents. Medina delivers another
stellar and deeply moving story.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The realistic portrayal of a complex
young Latina’s life is one many readers will relate to as she discovers that
change can be hard, but it’s the ride that matters. Pura Belpré–winning author
Medina cruises into readers’ hearts with this luminous middle grade novel. A
winning addition to any library’s shelves.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
Medina (Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, rev. 3/13; Burn
Baby Burn, rev. 3/16) consistently and assuredly
portrays Latinx girls and women who grapple with their insecurities while
learning about themselves and their worlds, and middle-grade heroine Merci is a
fine example. Accurate and natural use of Spanish words and sayings that fit
each character’s tone builds authenticity. Medina writes with sincerity and
humor to convey the experience of growing up in a close-knit family that tends
to mingle too much in each other’s business while unfailingly and dedicatedly
supporting and helping one another.
—The Horn Book (starred review)
In this warmly told story, Medina (Burn Baby Burn) introduces 11-year-old Merci, descendent of Cuban immigrants, who
attends a Florida private school on scholarship with her whip-smart older
brother...Medina keeps the tone light as Merci’s take-charge personality helps
her to succeed in this coming-of-age tale about family and the perils of sixth
grade.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Meg Medina is the author of the YA novels Burn Baby Burn; Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, winner of the Pura Belpré Author Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She also wrote the picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me, a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor Book, and Tía Isa Wants a Car, recipient of an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She lives in
Richmond, Virginia.
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