George Lopez

Chupacarter is a colorful and fun Fantasy middle grade novel in which a young boy befriends a mythical being. The chupacabra is a dangerous legendary creature in the folklore of part of the Americas. But no danger here as Carter is a kind friend to twelve-year-old Jorge.

Under the cover of an entertaining story, George Lopez and Ryan Calejo explore the difficulties of a new school and being bullied for being different. As Jorge is sent to live with his grandparents, he has to face challenges show more and difficulties to be in a different environment, as well as healing from deep emotional wounds. The characters are wonderful and Santy Gutiérrez's perfect illustrations are definitely a great addition to the story.

This novel is full of friendship and mystery, and is a great adventure taking place in New Mexico. I really love how the story includes many Spanish words. It is such a great introduction to Latinx folklore. show less

The delightful debut novel for authors George Lopez’s & Ryan Calejo’s middle-grade fantasy adventure series, ChupaCarter!

ChupaCarter is a delightful middle-grade fantasy chapter book from the multi-talented George Lopez and co-writer Ryan Calejo. The book debuts the series about the friendship between twelve-year-old Jorge and Carter, the young chupacabra who was accidentally separated from his family.

The main character, Jorge, has been an angry, frightened, and worried child for some show more time. His father is not in the picture, and his mother is foundering as she tries to keep body and soul together as a single parent. Jorge has been acting out in school, and his quick wit and fast mouth have gotten him into trouble. This is all too much for his mother, and her solution to send him to live with his grandparents feels like a huge betrayal to the boy. It is a wonderful moment when Carter gives Jorge a new perspective on her motives. Both benefit from their relationship as they learn that it is only how THEY see themselves that matters, not how others do.

The story is fast-paced, with fun moments, sparkling dialogue, and tense situations. Readers with a Spanish language background will enjoy the natural mix of English and Spanish throughout the text. And readers learning Spanish or English may be able to hone their reading and comprehension in a light and entertaining way. The witty exchanges between characters and Carter’s incomplete understanding of common idioms and phrases are sure to generate a smile or two, as will Jorge dodging his abuela’s chancla.

I am happy to recommend CHUPACARTER to upper-elementary and middle-school readers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through TBR and Beyond Book Tours. show less

This is the memoir of comedian/actor/TV star George Lopez. I picked it up from my store's Memoir section more or less on a whim, and ended up finding it more interesting than I expected. Lopez grew up in a severely disfunctional family, raising by a grandmother who was incapable of showing love or even expressing approval. "Why you crying?" was, evidently, her stock phrase in response to any expression of little George's unhappiness or disappointment, and it's a line he incorporated into his show more comedy.

The book works well in describing the despondency of Lopez's early life, and his self-loathing and destructive behavior in early adulthood. Lopez gives a lot of credit in his eventual rise as a person and as a comedian to his wife, Ann, who stuck by him during some very dark times. Even the accounts of Lopez's rise to fame and success are interesting, although one comes to distrust some of his claims. Every audience, once he becomes successful, if packed with "adoring fans," for example. And Lopez makes some bold assertions about the popularity of his long-running sit-com, George Lopez. (Wikipedia says, "Never a big Nielsen hit in prime-time, the show became a surprise success in syndication.") It's hard to know, however, how much of that is actually Lopez and how much is his "as told to" collaborator, Armen Keteyian.

Lopez was, indeed, the first Latin American to star in a network show since Freddie Prinz starred in Chico and the Man back in the 70s. Some of the best writing in this book deals with the inspiration the young and struggling Lopez gained from Prinz's success and the devastation he felt when Prinz committed suicide at only 22 years of age.

It is also the case that Lopez has won a lot of recognition for his humanitarian work, especially within the Mexican American community. And while I could have done without the shot-by-shot description of Lopez's first appearance in the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament, mostly I enjoyed reading this book, and I found it quite interesting. show less

Ok, so I liked the bilingual Spanish writing, I liked the story in general — friendship, kindness, managing the big feels — all of these are awesome. I’m not really into boy humor, so probably not a good judge — not the intended audience. Cute, over the top.