Celia C. Pérez

Pretty great -- 4 girls of different backgrounds and interests, with different challenges, come together to protest against killing birds. Great activist message, great activist consequences. I loved that each of their stories felt very realistic and were different in significant ways. I loved that they initially don't really bond, but do eventually become friends. The setting, a small town in Florida, was wonderfully evoked. The message of activism and the ways to pursue it and what might show more happen if you do was well done. Enjoyed it! show less

A book to resonate with young square pegs who don't fit into round holes. Maria Luisa (or Malu) is half Mexican, makes zines and knows her punk music. But a move to Chicago with her "Supermexican" mother threatens her comfort level and her ability to be herself. Malu is a lively rebel with moments of insecurity like most kids. With her new friends, she finds a way to reconcile all her selves into a whole she can appreciate. The book is peppered with Malu's zine creations, likely to inspire show more readers to try their own. Backmatter includes zine-folding instructions. show less

Twelve-year-old Adela Ramirez lives in New Mexico with her paleontologist mother and her stepdad, Alex, who runs the family diner. When Alex wants to adopt Adela officially, she decides she needs to know about her biological father first; some detective work reveals that he's Manny Bravo, a wrestler from a family of wrestlers. Reluctantly, Adela's mom lets her reconnect with the Bravos, but while her abuela Rosie, twin cousins, and Uncle Mateo are warm and welcoming, her abuelo Pancho show more suffers from CTE, and her father Manny remains distant. Meanwhile, Addie's best friend Cy is directing their school production of The Nutcracker, and they decide to put their own spin on the show - a lucha libre spin. Rich and wonderful, this is a novel of growing up (of course), realizing that the world isn't black-and-white, making decisions, and respecting others' choices as well.

Quotes

I hadn't even considered the possibility of hurting Alex's feelings. I liked to imagine that having hurt feelings was one of those things you outgrew, like a pair of shoes or playing with toys. The idea that you could be a full-grown adult and someone could still hurt your feelings was just too much. (20)

Mom's silence taught me that I wasn't supposed to ask questions, at least not about him. (33)

"But in wrestling, a character's story is never set in stone. It can always change." (Uncle Mateo, 138)

"It's okay to be scared. It's just a sign that you care." (Mrs. González, 163)

"It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't the life I wanted. Half here and half there and never fully anywhere?" (Rosie, 191)

"But don't you ever wonder what your life would be like it you made different choices?" (191)

"Some people choose to improvise and write their own story." (Uncle Mateo, 264)

"I understand what it's like to want to know more about something that's been missing from your life." (Mom, 280)

But I was tired of adults being so busy thinking about themselves and how they were hurt that they couldn't see when they were hurting someone else. (299)

"Why can't everything in life just have a right or wrong answer instead of all these possible choices?" (305) show less

I thought this was going to be a graphic novel, but no! Even, better, the main character is into zines, and they appear throughout! Great story that happens to include a whole lot of exploration of identity -- what does it mean to come from an immigrant culture, but feel on the outside of it? How do you find and be your most true self without alienating all the people who love you? It turns out that Malu is pretty great at navigating this thorny path, even when she doesn't realize it.