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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this spunky, punky book about finding your own place in your heritage and standing up for yourself
Malú is super spunky and on a journey to find out who she is and how she fits in with parent expectations.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cute middle-grade book with an excellent message: Be Yourself
Love the fusion of Malú’s Mexican heritage and her punk rock heart. I would have devoured this book in middle school, and I loved it now too! Malú and her crew are very cool punks and I wish I was more like them when I was younger. Would recommend for the story and the Smiths references (among many great music refs)
Really fun book that me and Z read together for our book club. I really enjoyed the Wizard of Oz references and all the parts about Mexican culture.
Punk-loving, zine-making Malú feels like an outsider everywhere, even in her own family. Her mom and dad have themselves figured out, even their divorce, but she is caught between wanting to please her cool, music-loving dad and her super traditional "SuperMexican" mom. At her new school she has the chance to start over and Malú finally has the chance to make her own mark... if she can only figure out how.
A great example of a complex mother-daughter dynamic that feels very real in all of its bumpiness and missteps, as well as realistically portraying the vulnerability of that age. Extra fun are all the punk and cultural references and the interstitial bits with Malú's zines, plus a how-to on the back. A story you can tell is being told with genuine love for its subject matter. Would be a good companion to books like Kelly Yang's Front Desk (and subsequent books), Maizy Chen's Last Chance, and Inside Out and Back Again... all books with strong female protagonists who are reckoning with family and cultural expectations and dynamics and finding themselves along the way.
A great example of a complex mother-daughter dynamic that feels very real in all of its bumpiness and missteps, as well as realistically portraying the vulnerability of that age. Extra fun are all the punk and cultural references and the interstitial bits with Malú's zines, plus a how-to on the back. A story you can tell is being told with genuine love for its subject matter. Would be a good companion to books like Kelly Yang's Front Desk (and subsequent books), Maizy Chen's Last Chance, and Inside Out and Back Again... all books with strong female protagonists who are reckoning with family and cultural expectations and dynamics and finding themselves along the way.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this one! Malu is a charming, relatable protagonist trying to reconcile different parts of her identity in a new place. I want to live at Calaca and have Mrs. Hidalgo recommend punk music to me all day. And I loved the inclusion of Malu's zines as part of the storytelling. My only minor criticism is that Malu would have needed some heavy-duty cleaning products to get that hair dye out of her bathroom countertops and sink (speaking from experience).
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes