LSSL 5361
Book Reviews
Culture #3
Book 1
Sánchez, E. L. (2017).I am not your perfect Mexican daughter. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781534700492
a) The story of this book deals with a young Mexican American by the name of Julia Reyes. Julia Reyes’ life is turned upside down when her older sister Olga dies. Julia is now the only daughter to a family that is in the United States illegally. Her mom is grieving heavily always referencing Olga; while her communication with her dad is non existence. They do have a relationship but he hardly ever speaks. Julia must now face life without her sister, whose life she really did not know; to the aspect of an upcoming quincenera that is being forced upon her by her mother. During this time; Julia meets and falls in love with a young man named Connor who comes from an affluent family.
Life gets complicated for Julia who ends up trying to commit suicide by slitting her wrists. Julia seeks treatment for her mental health. She is sent to live with her grandparents in Mexico during the summer to try to heal. She is able to learn about her parent’s past and is able to heal. When she returns home she is able to find out about her sister’s life; revealing that she was pregnant during her death. Julia continues to go to counseling and take the medication that is prescribed by her doctor. In the end, Julia is accepted at a New York University on a full ride scholarship. The book ends with her leaving to start her new life at the university.
b) This book is a great book for any young Hispanic student. It brilliantly describes the life of a typical Hispanic family. Students will be able to relate in how you might have a huge family of support, but still be able to feel alone. Julia’s friendship with her closest friends is one that many will relate to; and her finding love will resonate with the readers. Seeing her get the help is one that will hopefully speak to students that are struggling.
c) The following review can be found at http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2017/11/i-am-not-your-perfect-mexican-daughter-by-erika-l-sanchez/
Julia is blunt, funny, sneaky, and also fairly miserable. Her sister, Olga, was recently killed and Julia feels more off-kilter than ever. She’s grieving, of course, but also intensely feeling her parents’ disappointment in her and trying to find ways to get a little breathing room, especially in respect to her judgmental and strict mother. All Julia wants to do is graduate and move to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, but it’s hard to feel like that dream could become a reality since her parents think a good daughter would be happy to continue living at home and attending community college. That’s what Olga did, and especially as far as her mother is concerned, Olga was perfect. Julia, who talks back, is unabashedly a feminist, and isn’t particularly concerned with consequences, knows she is far from her parents’ ideal. She carries that weight while trying to just live her life in spite of her grief and her increasing depression. And while Julia certainly doesn’t think she has her own life figured out, she did think she had Olga’s nailed: boring secretary who attends one class at a time and was her parents’ pride and joy. But while trying to get to know her now dead sister a little better, Julia must face the fact that she didn’t actually know her sister at all–that no one in their family did. Julia assembles clues based on her limited findings and follows them until she is able to put together a more realistic picture of who Olga was.
Overall, I liked this book. Julia is a complex character. Her struggles as a first generation American teenager and as someone living in poverty are just as complex and well-drawn as she is. However, once I realized the part mental health would play in her story, I wanted more from it: I wanted it woven in throughout, instead of just kind of dropped in, and explored more fully. The plot suffers a bit from being overstuffed—not that she can’t have multiple things happening in her life at once (friends issues, grieving her sister, her first real boyfriend, mental health stuff, a trip to Mexico)—I kept wanting Julia to either really hone in on the mystery with her sister OR explore her grief and hopes for her own life more fully, something to make the plot feel tighter to me. Maybe it just needed to cover less time. At any rate, as a character-driven reader, Julia’s emotionally complicated journey held my attention even when the plot meandered. Her desire for something bigger in life as well as the reveal that people aren’t necessarily what they seem will resonate with teen readers.
d) Readers will also enjoy Far from the Tree by Robin Benway; Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds; and Turtles all the Way Down by John Green.
Book # 2
Mora, P. (2010).Dizzy in your eyes: Poems about love. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375945656
a) This book is a collection of love poems. The poems narrators are teenagers that explore love, loneliness, unrequited love. Some of the topics include a girl’s love of swimming while another poem talks about a young man’s love of flowers. There are 50 poems in this collection, each one different from the other.
b) The book offers different types of poems; from sonnets to a villanelle to a lyric to a triolet. This book speaks to kids offering different themes that students will have a great understanding of it. The book is written by Pat Mora is also when known for his children’s books.
c) The following review can be found at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pat-mora/dizzy-in-your-eyes-poems-about-love/
A lovely collection of poems about the uncertainties of teenage love in all its greatness and through all its varied forms of expression. Mora explores the first love between a girl and a boy, the filial love between a daughter and her father, the fraternal love between sisters, the love of family, friends and teachers, picturing each variation as a strong force that strikes, blesses, empowers and beautifies the lives of the ones touched by its light. The poet’s voice is multifaceted: tender, humorous and joyful but also profound, as when she immerses her readers in the solitude and sadness of a day of school in an unknown country, with an unknown language (Spanish is the love-object here). The author employs an extraordinary diversity of poetic forms, from blank verse to a tanka, a cinquain to an anaphora, a haiku to a triolet and more, short notations adding a learning component for budding poets. The poems are complemented by abstract designs, the circles, rectangles and other geometric shapes repeating pleasingly. A must read for lovestruck teens, whether they’re poets or not.
d) Readers will also enjoy Gossamer by Lois Lowry; Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman; and All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
Book #3
Medina, M., & Dominguez, A. (2017).Mango, Abuela, and me. Sommerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763695132
a) The book tells the story of a young girl’s grandmother who moves in with her family during the winter months. Unfortunately, there is a language barrier; where the grandmother’s English is limited and the young girl’s Spanish is limited as well. Slowly they begin to teach each other and they begin to learn each other's native language. The young girl begins to help her grandmother learn English by placing word cards on everything in the house. The two begin to play the game of “Hear and Speak” to help each other learn.
One day, while out shopping with her mom, the young girl convinces her mom to buy a parrot for her grandmother to keep her company during the day while she is alone. The parrot is a great tool that helps both Abuela and the young girl to learn each other’s language.
b) This book is a marvelous book that showcases the love that a grandmother and granddaughter have for each other. It is common in Hispanic families to have a grandparent move in with the family in their later years of life. It is endearing to see the main characters of the book help each other to be able to communicate better with each other. The young girls uses tools that she learned from her school when they helped a LEP student learn English.
Abuela has left her house in a sunnier place and moved to the wintry city to live with Mia and her family in their small apartment. Even though Mia and Abuela share a room, the older woman still feels like a “far-away grandmother” because her English is “too poquito” for Mia to speak with her. But Mia won’t give up; embracing the role of teacher and enlisting the help of a bilingual pet parrot (the “Mango” in the title) she and Abuela are soon “full of things to say.” With its emotional nuance and understated, observant narration—especially where Abuela’s inner state is concerned—Medina’s (Tia Isa Wants a Car) lovely story has the feel of a novella. Dominguez’s (Knit Together) broader, more cartoonlike art initially seems like a mismatch, but she captures the doubt in Abuela’s eyes, and her sunny colors and simple characterizations keep the story from sinking into melancholy before it bounces back to its upbeat ending. A Spanish-language edition is available simultaneously.
d) Readers would also enjoy My Tata’s Remedies by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford; Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh; and Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor
Book #4
Medina, M. (2013).Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9781489819727
a) The book tells the story of Piddy Sanchez; a young Hispanic girl who is struggling between her job at a hair saloon with her honor classes. One day, Piddy finds out that another girl at her school, Yaqui Delgado, doesn’t like her and wants to kick her ass. It turns out that Yaqui can not stand Piddy because of her good grades; her strutting around and because her skin is too white for her taste. Piddy is constantly being harassed by Yaqui; that she does not want to leave her home. Piddy ends up being hurt by Yaqui and her gang; leaving her with bruises and scabs. She confides in one of her co-workers who councils Piddy to stand up for her self and fight back. The story concludes; when Yaqui actions are reported to the principal; who ultimately expels her. But Piddy is still being harassed by members of Yaqui’s gang. Piddy ultimately transfer schools and is able to adjust well and live a better life.
b) The story is relevant to today’s times where young kids are being constantly being bullied by their peers. Piddys’ actions to not fight back are similar to most kids decisions. Luckily for her; someone else reported what was going on the principal who intervened was able to help her. But unfortunately, in real life some kids are afraid to step up. One of the reasons for Yaqui not liking Piddy was because her skin was not dark enough for a Latina. Unfortunately, this kind of discrimination happens within one own culture. Because someone is too dark or to white are reasons some kids are being bullied. This book showed a true representation of what our kids are going through on a daily basis.
c) The following review can be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/yaqui-delgado-wants-to-kick-your-ass-by-meg-medina/2013/05/07/41354c8a-ab5f-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4107807bbdff
Books about bullying are on the rise as adults grapple with its causes and impact — and young people struggle to deal with it. The gritty novel manages to transcend the usual earnest fictional treatment by delivering a protagonist who is more than a mere victim and an ending that rings complicatedly true. At her new high school, Piddy Sanchez is surprised to find herself targeted by tough Yaqui Delgado, a fellow Latina who objects to Piddy’s good grades and “wiggly” walk. Piddy tries, by turns, to avoid, ignore and reason with Yaqui to no avail, and her terror mounts as Yaqui’s small cruelties intensify. What can Piddy do? She’s sure that turning to adults will only further enrage Yaqui and her friends. While this situation is certainly compelling, Meg Medina widens her story to involve readers not just in Piddy’s problem but also in her larger life. Piddy’s curiosity about her absent father and her evolving relationship with a scraggly neighbor boy add depth and intrigue. Her pithy accounts of her neighborhood in Queens, her “worried face” mother and a glamorous family friend contain humor and insight. This unflinching novel, with its richly developed main character, deserves a place with two other nuanced bully books for teens: Rita Williams-Garcia’s “Jumped,” a 2009National Book Award finalist that explores the mindsets of bully, victim and bystander; and Adam Rex’s “Fat Vampire,” in which a main character confronts her guilt as a cyberbully.
d) Readers would also enjoy Monster by Walter Dean Myers; Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein; and Winger by Andrew Smith
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