Author: Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia
Year published: 2024
Category: YA graphic novel
Pages: 320 pages
Rating: 5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (NY)
Summary: Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.
Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.
As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.
But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.
Review: I can see why this graphic novel won the Printz Award (The Library Association's award for excellence in YA literature). It's so good! It's the first book this year that has made me tear up.
I haven't read a graphic novel in quite some time, and it felt good to read this one, especially because it is so well done. Here's why I liked it:
- The main character's life is thrown upside down when she has to live with her father for the summer. She doesn't know him, his culture, or his language. A typical teen, she struggles at first and is angry, but over the summer comes to embrace her dad, her culture, the language, traditions, and celebrations. She realizes she can be part of two worlds, two cultures, and love and appreciate them both.
- The supporting characters are also going through their own stuff and bringing that into their relationships. Not everything is solved by the end of the book, but everyone comes to terms with the situation, and they all learn to celebrate one another and their differences.
- The setting is full of life--the streets and brownstones of the city are teeming with all sorts of people and experiences. It's a great setting for bringing in different lived experiences, languages, beliefs, and more
Though I got teary, it was for the positive aspects of the novel: I am a sucker for people finding each other, falling in love, supporting others, and more.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Author)--J
- Cover Love--A flag or banner
- Diversity--all the characters are Mexican or Guatemalan
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