This is a chapter book about a young girl name Naomi and her incredible story of finding herself and standing up for her brother Owen, who was born with a physical disability. The two siblings live with their grandmother in California because their parents divorced when they were little, and the mother could not take care of them. One day out of the blue their mother shows up unexpectedly and it puts Naomi and Owen through a whirlwind. This is a great book for intermediate to advanced readers. ( )

Good story, of a strong child in a difficult situation, surrounded by people who love her. Naomi's growth in confidence and abilities is inspiring, and empowering. ( )

It was in a little town called Madera, about 30 minutes north of Fresno, California, that I first learned to love Oaxaca. The flowered clothing, the food, the bright colors, the dancing eyes and big smiles are hard to capture on paper. In some ways, Madera seemed like an extension of Oaxaca because, for the most part, the people living there are all from a tiny town called Santa Maria Tindu. A smaller subset of the people there speak Mizteca, a dialect, they say, that only exists in Oaxaca.

So when I heard the Pam Muñoz Ryan had a book set in that state I couldn't resist. But, as I ended the book, I realized that she also did a fine job capturing real issues in an accurate way. The anxiety, the lack of surety, the search for identity is not uncommon in similar situations. There's a poignantly real difference between this work that tells us how it is and other books that, perhaps, tell us more of what we would like to hear. ( )

A gem of a story. I am always impressed when authors can tackle BIG issues in a way that is palatable and understandable to kids. Naomi and her brother Owen, an FLK (funny-looking-kid) who has some physical abnormalities which don't impact his smarts or outlook, live with their great-grandmother after being dumped by their mother years earlier. Now Mom, (self-named Skyla) is back and wants custody of Naomi (but not Owen) to take her to Las Vegas with her boyfriend and his daughter for a ready-made family. Skyla has a drinking problem (which is addressed very carefully and age-appropriately)and the boyfriend is clearly a loser, so Naomi does not want to be ripped away from her comfort zone and family. To avoid this, Gram and the kids go in search of their father in Mexico and discover some of their heritage and a lot of their own inner courage (Leon means Lion) to fight for personal justice. Lovely secondary characters support Naomi and her true family and help her to find her voice and her heart. ( )