{"id":35864,"date":"2019-01-29T00:29:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T04:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=35864"},"modified":"2019-01-29T00:29:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T04:29:06","slug":"review-of-merci-suarez-changes-gears-by-meg-medina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=35864","title":{"rendered":"Review of Merci Su\u00e1rez Changes Gears, by Meg Medina"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Merci Su\u00e1rez Changes Gears<\/em><\/p>\n

by Meg Medina<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2018. 355 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written June 27, 2018, based on an advance reader copy I got at ALA Annual Conference.
\n2019 Newbery Medal Winner!<\/p>\n

Note: This review was written after my first reading of the book, before I had discussed it with any committee members. The views are mine alone – and I gained yet more appreciation for this book when rereading and discussing it. And today I’m completely thrilled that this is “our” Newbery winner!<\/p>\n

(That’s fun! I just remembered when looking up my review of her earlier book, Mango, Abuela, and Me<\/a><\/em> that I was on a Cybils Picture Books committee that chose her book as one of our Finalists. Now I’m on another committee that chose her book!)<\/p>\n

This is another book about navigating middle school, this time from the perspective of sixth-grader Merci, who attends Seaward Pines Academy on a scholarship since her father does maintenance there. Merci lives with her extended family close by:<\/p>\n

How we live confuses some people, so Mami starts her usual explanation. Our three flat-top houses are exact pink triplets, and they sit side by side here on Sixth Street. The one on the left, with the Sol Painting van parked out front, is ours. The one in the middle, with the flower beds, is where Abuela and Lolo live. The one on the right, with the explosion of toys in the dirt, belongs to T\u00eda In\u00e9z and the twins. Roli calls it the Su\u00e1rez Compound, but Mami hates that name. She says it sounds like we\u2019re the kind of people who collect canned food and wait for the end of the world any minute. She\u2019s named it Las Casitas instead. The little houses. I just call it home.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Merci\u2019s got some of the normal middle school pressures. She\u2019s been assigned to be Sunshine Buddy to a new student who\u2019s a boy, and the most popular girl in the school is jealous. But on top of that, she wants to be on the soccer team, but she\u2019s expected to babysit the twins after school. And her grandfather Lolo, who has always been her confidant, is beginning to act very strangely. And through it all, she\u2019s hoping to earn enough money to buy a better bike than the old rickety one she rides now with Lolo.<\/p>\n

Merci\u2019s a very likable heroine and her conflicts and friendships feel organic and not stereotyped. Author Meg Medina reminds us that middle school comes with lots of changes, and some of those changes \u2013 like a grandparent getting dementia \u2013 aren\u2019t good changes. But with the help of family and friends, we believe Merci\u2019s conclusion that she\u2019ll be able to switch to a more difficult gear and ride on.<\/p>\n

megmedina.com<\/a>
\ncandlewick.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/merci_suarez_changes_gears.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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