The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
I want more of this kind of book for my kids. Without making it mushy or unbelievable, Fajardo masterfully intertwines the stories of this precocious not-child and his not-adult brother into one of the sweetest narratives I’ve read in a long time. She allows them to be vulnerable and share a very tender bond that flies in the face of the machismo we’ve been told to expect, and to celebrate.
To say that 12 year old Santiago has had a rough life would be putting it mildly. His father out of the picture, his loving mom dead since he was 5, Santiago has bounced between the houses of his malicious and abusive relatives. His abuela, la malvada, is the worst. After being banished once again to her house, Santiago decides he would rather run away than return to her.
Billy and his Nana share a special connection. They bake together, and put on shows together. Billy’s Nana directs, and Billy and his siblings perform. But Billy’s Nana is starting to have a hard time remembering things, and Billy is worried about the performance.
Enter Marva Sheridan, the young Black heroine of The Voting Booth, who will tell you that some people don’t have the luxury of not being involved. The novel is set on Election Day, in an unnamed year, although the issues discussed throughout might give you a clue as to where Colbert’s mind is. Marva is so excited to be voting in her first election. For the past two years, she has been canvassing, registering voters, and even getting her beloved cat to encourage civic participation on Instagram. Her parents, while proud, wonder if Marva is a little too intense.
You see, Marva has been interested in politics since she was 7, when she summarily informed her teacher that she wanted to become either Secretary of State, an environmental attorney, or a Supreme Court Justice.
At the center of the novel is the relationship between Beetle and Kat, caught in a will-they or won’t-they scenario. These are funny, assertive, girls who, like most kids their age, engage their feelings before their minds–resulting in avoidable, but true-to-life situations.
I would steer the book away from Middle Grade readers and put it squarely in the hands of a Young Adult audience and above. The themes are strong, the writing is strong, and although very funny at times, things can get pretty intense:
In this rich and poignant coming-of-age novel, Jennifer De Leon tackles some ripped-from-the-headlines topics through an engaging young narrator with an authentic voice. I loved it, my teenager loved it, and I think you will too.
In Jorge Argueta’s haunting novel in verse, Caravan to the North: Misael’s Long Walk, Misael and his family can no longer live in their home, El Salvador, which they love.
Character development, for example, is strong– and Higuera manages to find just the right balance between two internally competing cultures within our heroine not only by using humor, but also through a strong balance of both ethos and pathos.