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bookiecharm's review
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Grief and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent
sarah984's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a sweet little middle grade novel about a girl trying to get out of square dancing in gym class because it threatens the straight-A grades she needs to maintain in order to meet her favourite baseball player. The author did a good job of making these sort of trivial situations feel like as big a deal as they would to 12-year-olds, and Lupe’s relationships with her friends and family felt natural. It was nice to see a biracial protagonist, and both her Mexican and Chinese family play a role in the story. It does drag in the middle a bit and there's one major plot thread I thought was a little silly but overall I loved the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Vomit
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Animal death and Blood
A racial slur is mentioned in the context of a character being upset to hear it in a song, but it's not printed in the book.bookishrealm's review
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've been waiting for my chance to read this book for a while! The premise sounded like it was going to be interesting and different from some middle grade that I've read before. CW: bullying and racsim.
Lupe Wong Won't Dance is an interesting look at the woes of middle school while addressing hard hitting topics like racism, gender roles, bullying, grief, and dealing with the loss of a loved one. Lupe Wong, the main character, has the heart and spirit of a social activist determined to carve out spaces for herself and others. At the start of the novel she is determined to maintain getting all A's so that she can meet her hero Fu Li Hernandez who is also Chinacan/Mexinese. Lupe is on the right track until she finds out that in order to make an A in gym class she must square dance. Lupe is creative in the ways that she plots to get out of doing square dancing. What I enjoyed most about these creative plans is that Higuera utilizes them as teachable moments not only for Lupe but also for readers. These teachable moments were also perfect for the adults in the novel. I was surprised (yet also not surprised) of the origins of some of the songs utilized for square dancing. There's also an adamant challenging of gender roles which I appreciated. I don't particular find anything wrong with square dancing, but the entire concept of school dances having to revolve around "boy+girl" pairings is so detrimental to kids. Higuera also did an amazing job discussing/illustrating the multicultural aspects of Lupe's family life. I loved being able to see both sides of her family interact with each other.
While there were so many things that I enjoyed about this book, getting past some of the character development was tricky. Lupe is not necessarily a likeable character. There is this essence of perfectionism that sits at the core of Lupe and sometimes it's difficult to watch her steam roll friendships while trying to achieve her goals. There were characters that had a lot of personal issues of their own that Lupe was completely blind to in the name of trying to make sure she didn’t have to square dance. This is not to say that this isn't a relatable topic for a middle grade audience or that Lupe does not acknowledge her flaws, but some moments were cringy and also hypocritical. Lupe does learn through the narratives of her friends that she needs to check her behavior and it is important to remember as an adult reader that Lupe is a middle school kid who is learning more about the world around her and herself.
Overall, this book was well written and actually quite hilarious at some points. It had some slow moments that were difficult to get through because of pacing, but I'm pretty sure that middle grade readers are going to really enjoy this book.
Lupe Wong Won't Dance is an interesting look at the woes of middle school while addressing hard hitting topics like racism, gender roles, bullying, grief, and dealing with the loss of a loved one. Lupe Wong, the main character, has the heart and spirit of a social activist determined to carve out spaces for herself and others. At the start of the novel she is determined to maintain getting all A's so that she can meet her hero Fu Li Hernandez who is also Chinacan/Mexinese. Lupe is on the right track until she finds out that in order to make an A in gym class she must square dance. Lupe is creative in the ways that she plots to get out of doing square dancing. What I enjoyed most about these creative plans is that Higuera utilizes them as teachable moments not only for Lupe but also for readers. These teachable moments were also perfect for the adults in the novel. I was surprised (yet also not surprised) of the origins of some of the songs utilized for square dancing. There's also an adamant challenging of gender roles which I appreciated. I don't particular find anything wrong with square dancing, but the entire concept of school dances having to revolve around "boy+girl" pairings is so detrimental to kids. Higuera also did an amazing job discussing/illustrating the multicultural aspects of Lupe's family life. I loved being able to see both sides of her family interact with each other.
While there were so many things that I enjoyed about this book, getting past some of the character development was tricky. Lupe is not necessarily a likeable character. There is this essence of perfectionism that sits at the core of Lupe and sometimes it's difficult to watch her steam roll friendships while trying to achieve her goals. There were characters that had a lot of personal issues of their own that Lupe was completely blind to in the name of trying to make sure she didn’t have to square dance. This is not to say that this isn't a relatable topic for a middle grade audience or that Lupe does not acknowledge her flaws, but some moments were cringy and also hypocritical. Lupe does learn through the narratives of her friends that she needs to check her behavior and it is important to remember as an adult reader that Lupe is a middle school kid who is learning more about the world around her and herself.
Overall, this book was well written and actually quite hilarious at some points. It had some slow moments that were difficult to get through because of pacing, but I'm pretty sure that middle grade readers are going to really enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Racism
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