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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
this was so cute and warm and unique and lovely, a celebration of weird kids that was wonderfully paced and characterized. top tier middle grade, I could cry just thinking about how badly I wish I'd had this to read when I was Malú's age and I'm so happy for kids today that they have it. this book gave my inner child a warm drink and a blanket!
I liked this YA contemporary novel. It was cute and unique, and the addition of zines was a fun take on it. It felt a bit young for 7th grade, but I was appreciative that there WASN'T a love triangle for once.
A charming and fun story about a creative preteen and her journey of self-discovery through music, art, and some punk DIY sensibility. Twelve-year-old María Luisa O’Neill-Morales, otherwise known as Malú, loves punk-rock music, hanging out at her father’s indie record store, and making zines. She moves from Florida to Chicago though due to her Mexican-American professor mother's appointment at a university there, throwing her happy life into a tailspin. Malú has a hard time adjusting to life in Chicago at first, and especially misses her father who she identifies with much more than her mother. (The two are divorced but very friendly and supportive as parents.) She refers to her as the "SuperMexican" and her mother is constantly disapproving of her fashion choices.
Malú is called a "coconut" at her new primarily Latino school, and makes a quick enemy of confident classmate Selena. Luckily, she manages to meet some other misfits and convinces them to start a punk band with her for the school Fall Fiesta, which this year will celebrate the school's namesake artist José Guadalupe Posada. When they are shut out of the show for not being "traditional" enough Malú plots an Alterna-Fiesta. Eventually, she realizes she can connect with both her Mexican heritage while still being a punk at heart, thanks to her new found friends and various awesome adults who help her find her way. Sprinkled throughout the book are pages of Malú’s zines and artwork which middle-grade readers are sure to appreciate and maybe even be inspired by. Full of positive messages, humor, and a big dose of coolness this book is highly recommended!
Malú is called a "coconut" at her new primarily Latino school, and makes a quick enemy of confident classmate Selena. Luckily, she manages to meet some other misfits and convinces them to start a punk band with her for the school Fall Fiesta, which this year will celebrate the school's namesake artist José Guadalupe Posada. When they are shut out of the show for not being "traditional" enough Malú plots an Alterna-Fiesta. Eventually, she realizes she can connect with both her Mexican heritage while still being a punk at heart, thanks to her new found friends and various awesome adults who help her find her way. Sprinkled throughout the book are pages of Malú’s zines and artwork which middle-grade readers are sure to appreciate and maybe even be inspired by. Full of positive messages, humor, and a big dose of coolness this book is highly recommended!
Malu’ didn’t want to move to Chicago with her mom, whom she calls the SuperMexican. She relates more to her music store owning father who loves punk bands. As she tries to fit into a more traditional Mexican school, she makes friends with Joe, a good looking boy whose family owns the local coffee shop, Elle, an “it will look good on a college application”, and trumpet playing Benny. Malu’ decides that they need to enter the school talent show and play some punk music. The principal decides they are too loud and not traditional enough to participate which causes them to plan their own alternative fiesta.
This middle grade book deals with parental and school expectations, fitting in, having other interests outside of one’s traditional role, and friendship.
I loved this multi-cultural book.
This middle grade book deals with parental and school expectations, fitting in, having other interests outside of one’s traditional role, and friendship.
I loved this multi-cultural book.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A fun story about a girl who is learning how to accept parts of a her culture on her own terms!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
really adorable. much feelings. I loved the zines in between chapters. this book really spoke to me.
María Luisa or Malú is uprooted from her Florida home to Chicago with her mother just as she's about to start middle school. She is sad to leave her punk-rock dad, friends, and everything she has ever known behind and resents her mom and new home. Her mom is always ragging on being a señorita and embracing her Mexican American culture but María Luisa just wants to be punk. She starts to make new friends at school and sparks an idea for how to keep punk alive in her new home.
What a lovely book! I’ve been reading it to my children in the last couple of weeks. It made me connect with my younger-punk self and also it allowed for the opportunity to share so many memories and things of those times in my life with my kids.
We listened to many of the bands Malú mentions and chatted about them, the places and historic time they were from. We talked about being latino and growing up in America. So many beautiful conversations and connection all through reading together this lovely, dear book. Plus is such a nice story! It’s hard to find novels for kids that are not full of drama or sadness. This novel is full of beautiful everyday life growing up and finding oneself. Loved it!
We listened to many of the bands Malú mentions and chatted about them, the places and historic time they were from. We talked about being latino and growing up in America. So many beautiful conversations and connection all through reading together this lovely, dear book. Plus is such a nice story! It’s hard to find novels for kids that are not full of drama or sadness. This novel is full of beautiful everyday life growing up and finding oneself. Loved it!
Malu (short for Maria Luisa), starts a new school in Chicago with her mom, far from Dad back home in Miami. Half Mexican and half Irish, Malu looks like her long-haired, dark-eyed mom (who she calls Super Mexican because of her devotion to Mexican traditions) but feels more like her dad, the tattooed, black-clad owner of a record store. Her mom bugs her to act, dress, and eat like “la senorita,” but Malu prefers loud music, Ramones t-shirts, and vegetarian dishes (with no cilantro!).
To express herself, Malu makes zines out of magazine clippings, stickers, and her own words and poems, several of which appear throughout the book in a fun counterpoint to the story. A how-to for making your own zines appears at the end. (Bonus: Check out the awesome playlist on the author's website!)
Malu’s struggle to figure out who she is feels genuine. At school, she is called a “coconut”–brown on the outside, white on the inside–yet over the course of the book, she turns an insult into a point of pride when she forms a punk rock mariachi band. Awesome! She learns to incorporate her mom’s heritage with her dad’s interests into her own unique blend by following the First Rule of Punk: Be Yourself. Not always easy to do, but Malu’s story illustrates one way to figure out what that might mean for each reader.
To express herself, Malu makes zines out of magazine clippings, stickers, and her own words and poems, several of which appear throughout the book in a fun counterpoint to the story. A how-to for making your own zines appears at the end. (Bonus: Check out the awesome playlist on the author's website!)
Malu’s struggle to figure out who she is feels genuine. At school, she is called a “coconut”–brown on the outside, white on the inside–yet over the course of the book, she turns an insult into a point of pride when she forms a punk rock mariachi band. Awesome! She learns to incorporate her mom’s heritage with her dad’s interests into her own unique blend by following the First Rule of Punk: Be Yourself. Not always easy to do, but Malu’s story illustrates one way to figure out what that might mean for each reader.