HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Merci Suárez Can't Dance

by Meg Medina

Series: Merci Suárez (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
7814342,826 (4.55)None
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML:

In Meg Medina's follow-up to her Newbery Medal–winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love—and finding your rhythm.
Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science she's got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her brother, Roli. She's been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might actually like. And she's tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball.
One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can't dance—not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can't seem to avoid love or dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer's getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love's many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.

.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I received a free copy of Merci Suárez Can't Dance by Meg Medina in exchange for an honest review.
A perfect book for intermediate readers who are navigating early teen years. Merci, a typical grade 7 student, is trying to figure out the usual friendship and family complexities. To make things worse, she must do volunteer with a male student with whom she is not friends. Even though she can be self-reliant, she wants to be accepted and cares what others think about her. The story subtly explores the need of young teens to be authentic yet be part of their peer group.
Along with the book, the publisher added a bookmark of discussion questions. This little addition was a nice touch for anyone who may want to use the novel in a book club or a class read aloud.
This book is a sequel, but it is not necessary to have read the first book. ( )
  jwyss | Aug 20, 2022 |
Not very popular Merci Suarez gets stuck with Wilson, a not very popular boy, at their private school, working in the school supply store. They quickly bond as they try to make a success of the tiny business. Merci's best friend has started hanging around with the mean spirited Edna. When Merci's carelessness allows an expensive camera of Edna's to get broken, she begins to try out lies and half-truths to cover up what happened. She is also confused on how to deal with her own beloved family, as her grandfather sinks deeper and deeper into Alzheimer's disease, and her aunt begins to date again after many years single. With all of this going on in her life, and more, she can't figure out how she feels about Wilson, who seems to maybe like like her.
In a story that has a plethora of sub-plots, and a lot of early teen issues to cover, Madina makes a smooth ride with a protagonist/narrator that the reader will care about and identify with. ( )
  fingerpost | Apr 14, 2022 |
In this sequel to Merci Suarez Changes Gears, Merci must navigate seventh grade. The teachers are tougher, her family is still, well, her family and friendship is getting more complicated. To make matters worse, Merci must work at the school store with a boy and he’s kind of nice. The biggest challenge of all is the school dance, Merci can’t dance. What will she do?
This title is recommended for readers who love school stories full of drama and angst. The book is character driven, humorous and diverse. Fans of the first book will delight in a chance to go into Merci’s world again. ( )
  SWONclear | Mar 21, 2022 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Let me be honest: I put off reading this book for a long, long time. Why? I loved Merci Suárez Changes Gears so much, and I am always disappointed with sequels. I just didn't want to be disappointed.

Maybe I'm not always disappointed with sequels. The truth is that Meg Medina did a fabulous job with this sequel. Merci Suárez Can't Dance equals or, maybe, even exceeds Merci Suárez Changes Gears.

Of course there are the same great characters from book #1, but these characters, like all good characters, are continuing to change, are evolving, growing, facing new challenges, struggling, sometimes slipping and doing the wrong thing, and finally moving forward despite the terrible consequences of doing so.

I'm so glad I read this new book about Merci. Frankly, I'd welcome another sequel about this wonderful group of people, and I never thought I'd say that. ( )
  debnance | Oct 10, 2021 |
A fantastic follow-up to Merci Suarez Changes Gears. While this could probably be enjoyed as a standalone, if you have access to the first book I’d recommend reading both to truly appreciate the gradual progression of Merci growing up.

Whether Merci’s experiencing anxiety over her family life (her grandpa slipping further into dementia, her aunt falling for someone) or her sweet awkwardness when she watches a movie with Wilson (for readers who aren’t into romance there’s only a small hint of it here) or when she’s scrambling to cover up for an expensive mishap at school, I just loved how honest, relatable, and palpable her emotions feel.

I also love the large role family plays in these books, the first one featured Merci’s bond with her grandfather and in this one it was such a pleasure to get more of a deep dive into her relationship with her aunt who on the surface is different from Merci but they connect on a heartwarming level.

It’s my hope that this isn’t the last of the Merci books, I’d like to keep checking in with her as she gets older. I’m so enjoying the realistic pace
in which Merci, her family and her relationships change and I’m especially eager to see her frenemy situation with Edna continue to evolve. ( )
  SJGirl | May 3, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

Belongs to Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML:

In Meg Medina's follow-up to her Newbery Medal–winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love—and finding your rhythm.
Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science she's got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her brother, Roli. She's been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might actually like. And she's tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball.
One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can't dance—not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can't seem to avoid love or dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer's getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love's many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Alum

Meg Medina's book Merci Suárez Can't Dance was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.55)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5 2
4 6
4.5 2
5 12

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 204,718,387 books! | Top bar: Always visible