“Big chicas don’t cry” Annette Chavez Macias

Rated 5 stars ***** ebook. Montlake. 2022.

Mari, Gracie, Selena, and Erica are cousins and best friends. They and their huge Mexican American family always get together for holidays, card games, and the annual making of Christmas tamales. Everyone talks English, Spanish, Spanglish, as well as the languages of hugs and love. When they get together the cousins bounce ideas, hurts, experiences, and romantic escapades off each other while Welita, their great-grandmother, is the glue that holds everyone together. She wants them to be happy, and to remember the importance of family. They had promised to always be there for each other but, when Mari’s parents got divorced and she moved away, things changed. She stopped coming around and, as the years passed, never made time for them. Though everyone missed her, their anger made their hackles rise whenever her name was mentioned.

In a back-and-forth narrative each cousin talks about their lives, and the love they feel for Welita and their family. It will take a tragedy to make sense of their own lives, and for the girls to understand what Welita has been telling them.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down and stopped every now and then only to wipe my tears away. The love and support for family that pours off the pages are extremely realistic and will leave readers sighing at the end wanting to continue their stories. Will there be a part two? I don’t know, but I would love it!

Highly recommended for Adults.

“They call her Fregona: A border kid’s poems” David Bowles

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Kokila (Penguin Random House). A border kid’s poems #2. 244 p. (Includes “Glossary” and “Author’s note.”) Published September 6, 2022.

In this sequel to “They call me Güero,” winner of the 2019 Pura Belpré Honor award, thirteen-year-old Güero continues sharing stories about life in a small Texas border town. Joanna, his lovely no nonsense girlfriend, is front and center in his 8th grade poems.

Nicknamed “Fregona” because of her tough girl attitude, Joanna is a strong young lady who stands up for what she believes. She is the wind beneath Güero’s wings. His love of family, friends and culture hasn’t changed, but now his stories are filled with his love for Joanna, and how she inspires him to be better. As he slowly unveils her story of prejudice and injustice Güero’s eyes are opened to the evil that was silently lurking in people’s hearts, forever changing both of their lives.

David Bowles’ ability to have his characters say the right things at the right times in the right ways continue to show the power of words and gives his teen and tween readers much food for thought. Don’t be surprised if it wins a Pura Belpré award, so stay tuned in January 2023 when winners are announced. Remember that you heard it here first!

Highly recommended for ages 11-14.

“They call me Güero: A border kid’s poems” David Bowles

Rated 5 stars ***** Kokila (Penguin Random House). 2021. 103 p. (Includes Glossary).

Seventh grader Güero has pale skin, freckles and red hair, so stands out in his Mexican American family, neighborhood and school. Often the target of bullies for not looking Mexican enough, he has learned to contain his anger by expressing himself through poetry. His musings about life, traditions, prejudice, friends and family are true-to-life.

Güero’s poems are a love story to his family, his culture and his people.

Highly recommended for ages 11-14.

“Tumble” Celia C. Pérez

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Kokila (Penguin Random House). 351 p. Published August 16, 2022.

Twelve-year-old Addie’s mom never wanted to talk about her dad, so she didn’t have answers to her many questions about him. When she found out her mother had been in contact with him for years, but never told her, she began snooping to find information about him on her own. She discovered her dad Manny and his family were famous lucha libre wrestlers, and he lived in a nearby town. Addie was sure they could make up for the eleven years he had been out of her life, and was eager to meet him.

With her mother’s reluctant permission Addie began to spend time with her grandparents, uncles and cousins but Manny kept himself at arm’s reach. As she learned about the strength of the women in her family, she also learned how wrestling had torn her family apart. Addie would grow to realize she also has the strength to love and to make tough choices in her own life.

“Tumble” takes a long, hard look at absentee parents and its affects on children, while educating a new generation of tween readers on the lucha libre world.

Recommended for readers ages 11-14.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

“Once I was you: Finding my voice and passing the mic” Maria Hinojosa

Rated 5 stars *****ARC. Simon & Schuster. Published Aug. 16, 2022. 260 p.

Was thrilled to meet Maria Hinojosa, Pulitzer Prize and Emmy award winning journalist, Anchor and Executive Producer of Latino USA.

At the recent American Library Association conference in D.C. this past June, me and a few of my fellow librarians from REFORMA spoke with Maria for a little while before her opening speech and she gifted us with her ARC. She signed my copy “¡Para Alma! Heroina!” gave a shout out to REFORMA during her speech, and later wrote about us on her blog, which was a great honor. I was planning on reading her book and keeping it on my library shelves, but it’s so good I had to share the love with all of my subscribers.

In 2020, Maria wrote an adult version of this book and was inspired to write one for teens. In “Once I was you,” she shares her memories of leaving her extended family behind in Mexico and moving with her parents, older brothers and sister to the United States. Maria weaves a tale of family, love and change, sprinkled throughout with cultural references.

The United States and Maria were changing in the 1960’s and, as she watched the news, she was busily trying to figure out her place in the world. Watching coverage of the Vietnam War, and seeing how journalists ignored the Vietnamese, gave her a small inkling of the kind of journalist she’d want to be. She knew she’d want to listen to those who didn’t have voices, and listen to the voiceless.

From her early activist beginnings and the growth she experienced from learning to truly love herself as a Mexican and Latina, Maria Hinojosa’s story will inspire her teen readers.

Highly recommended for ages 16 and older.

“The Displaced” Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre

Rated 5 stars ***** Arte Público Press. 2022. 271 p.

A brick and glass-filled lot in one inner city became new apartment buildings, while outdated buildings were replaced with new houses. Homes and population growth were generated, without displacement.

In contrast, huge rent increases in many inner cities forced residents to become homeless since they couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. Greedy landlords renovated and charged astronomical prices. People from other states thought these prices were reasonable. Strangers to the area’s customs and traditions, they moved in and changed the neighborhood so it resembled where they used to live. Displaced residents of color were forced out, taking their cultures with them. It is White flight in reverse.

This is the premise of “The Displaced,” as the alternating voices of a gang member, a doctor, and a journalist shine lights on this issue. A local gang fights to protect its neighborhood through tactics of murder, intimidation, kidnapping and warfare. Though their methodology is cruel, the fate of the displaced is also cruel. Each narrator has his own reasons for wanting the neighborhood to stay the same, sharing the hope that it is possible to fend off a wave of outsiders determined to forever change everything they hold dear.

Readers can draw their own conclusions to this dilemma, but I believe true affordable housing (nothing higher than $100,000) is a solution (along with true affordable rent.) I believe neighborhoods can be changed, but its residents shouldn’t have to flee because of these changes.

If you run a book club, “The Displaced” would be excellent to use with your group because it has much food for thought. Each chapter will lead to debates and discussions. Perhaps true change can come about through one of these conversations.

What are your suggestions for the problem of neighborhood displacement? Write them in the comments. 

Recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

“The last Karankawas” Kimberly Garza

Rated 2 stars ** ARC. ebook. Henry Holt and Company. (Macmillan). To be published August 9, 2022.

The population of Galveston, Texas in 2008 was a mixture of native-born islanders, Filipinos, Mexicans and other immigrants. Through chapter after chapter individuals detail their hopes, dreams and fears, as well as their reasons for being on the Island. Eventually some abandoned the Island in favor of new horizons, while others forever called it home.

Central to the book’s theme is the question of whether or not anyone could be related to the Island’s indigenous Karankawas, who disappeared centuries earlier. Carly believes the tribe died out years ago, but her grandmother Magdalena insists they are descendants. Sure that her grandmother is suffering from dementia, Carly spends the entire book denying her birthright.“The last Karankawas” is a look at life on Galveston, leading up to the Hurricane of 2008 and its aftermath. In alternating voices characters tell their stories, but the sheer number of them is overwhelming. I thought Garza should have let Carly and Magdalena tell their stories without the distraction of the other voices.

I feel more should have been written about the Karankawas, including their influence on the Island and its people. Proof that they still exist through their descendants should have also been part of the narrative. A Smithsonian magazine article showed the Taínos of Puerto Rico, from which I’m descended, still exist. Though many thought they died out when Europeans decimated their population, I still carry marks of my Taíno ancestors.

I hard a hard time following along with the many different voices, and couldn’t get into the storyline, so gave it just 2 stars. I will still recommend it for Adults who want to know more about the Island and the 2008 hurricane, but be prepared to be disappointed if you want to read about the Karankawas.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Boys of The Beast” Monica Zepeda

Rated 5 stars ***** 2022. Tu Books (Lee & Low Inc.) 2022. 326 p. (Includes “Author’s note.”)

Seventeen-year-old Ethan and his 18-year-old cousins Matt and Oscar go on a road trip from Oregon to New Mexico with The Beast, the 1988 Thunderbird Matt inherited from their recently deceased grandmother. Though none of them know each other well, they have their own reasons for wanting to take the trip.

Ethan wants to drive through California to finally meet the boy he’s been texting with for months. Matt hopes to get the courage to disobey his parents and visit Berkeley, though they don’t want him at a non-Christian college. Seven years earlier a school shooter killed his father, so Oscar plans to continue to stay high and keep everyone at arm’s length. On the road the boys begin to trust each other as they enjoy adventures, and talk about relationships, decision-making and mental health issues. As they learn to laugh, share, hug and carry each other’s burdens, the true meaning of family and brotherhood is revealed to each of them.

I LOVED this book! I laughed out loud SO MANY times, while sympathizing with issues in their lives. Teen readers will be equally engrossed in their travels, banter and deep discussions.

Recommended for ages 16 and older.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Nobody’s pilgrims” Sergio Troncoso

Rated 5 stars ***** Cinco Puntos Press (Lee & Low). 2022. 274 p.

Sixteen-year-old Turi loved reading, as books were an escape from the abuse he endured at his aunt and uncle’s house in El Paso Texas. Stories helped him forget he was lonely and unloved.

Undocumented seventeen-year-old Arnulfo crossed the border from Juárez Mexico, wanting to get a good job to escape poverty and help his parents financially.

The two boys meet while working at a chicken farm where Arnie accepts an offer to leave town with Juanito, an older man who works for their boss. After being badly beaten by his uncle, Turi joins them and they set off for Kansas City.

At a checkpoint Turi sees a bribe exchange between Juanito and an ICE officer. Believing they’re transporting drugs and will be killed he and Arnie escape, steal the pickup truck and, in Missouri, meet seventeen-year-old Molly. Desperate to get out of her dead end town, she joins them and they set out for Connecticut.

Unaware they’re transporting something far more dangerous than drugs, they also don’t know Juanito’s boss, Mr. Dunbar, will do anything to find them before his crime boss finds out what’s missing. Though he sets three of his own on the trail, Dunbar doesn’t know his boss already knows and has put El Hijo de Huerta, his best assassin, on the hunt. El Hijo knows that he always completes his jobs. Always.

This suspense filled, dystopian adventure will keep readers on the edges of their seats as our heroes run into tight situations that appear to have no way out. I read it in just one day! As I read I could see it playing out in front of me on the big screen so, if any scriptwriters are out there, this is your next big blockbuster!

Highly recommended for ages 18 and older.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“¡Ándale, Prieta!: A love letter to my family” Yasmín Ramírez

5 stars ***** Cinco Puntos Press (Lee & Low Books Inc.) 2022. 268 p. (Includes “Afterword,” and “My Ita’s recipes”)

This moving memoir is a love story to Yasmín’s strong, loving grandmother Ita. Ever since she was a little girl, she and her Ita were a team. Her mother worked long night shifts, so Ita took care of her in the border town of El Paso, Texas where they lived. Ita had a tough life, and learned to defend herself against tough men. She taught her granddaughter to hold her head high, to fight, cook, love pico, dance, love music, and much more. Yasmín adored Ita, who called her the cherished name “Prieta.” In anyone else’s mouth it would be an insult, but it was a term of endearment Yasmín adored. The love she felt for her grandmother comes alive in simple yet cherished memories such as the scent of Avon’s Skin so Soft on her skin, the way she looked when she sang, and the scars on her body from life’s struggles she battled and conquered.

Yasmín and Ita’s lives mix with the love/hate relationship she felt for her father, who abandoned her for a different family when she was a little girl. Yasmín spent years wishing for, but not getting, the love she craved from him. Drinking could make the pain go away, but it always returned.

Yasmín’s memories, as well as struggles in her personal life, jump back and forth across the pages. Spanish language endearments, sayings and conversations are sprinkled throughout, flavoring it with the sabor/flavor of which Ita was so fond. Though ¡Ándale, Prieta! was written as a gift from Yasmín to Ita, it’s also a gift for those with loving grandmothers who changed their lives for the better.

Yasmín, from one Prieta to another, I know Ita would be proud.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.