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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Nice story about a young man learning how to fight for what’s important to him. Takes place around Miami with a Cuban-American family. Hand this to kids who like some diversity in their realistic fiction.
I haven't read a book that has made me cry in a long time. But this one did! The importance of family, his grandma, their traditions and family history, along with poetry and finding your true self as a young person.....so great.
So here's an unintended consequence of our Tangerine Hitler in Chief -- you can now make the villain in a children's book just as grotesque and childish as you like.
Where previously I might have read the soulless real estate developer bent on destroying Arturo's family's restaurant as cartoonish and unrealistic, now I get that someone just like "Wilfrido Pipo" has surely been taking down honest businesses for decades, and with the same lack of subtlety.
Also, this is a fantastic book.
Where previously I might have read the soulless real estate developer bent on destroying Arturo's family's restaurant as cartoonish and unrealistic, now I get that someone just like "Wilfrido Pipo" has surely been taking down honest businesses for decades, and with the same lack of subtlety.
Also, this is a fantastic book.
Warm and funny, with just the perfect voice of a 13 year-old!
I adored this book & Arturo's journey! I was surrounded by warm feelings about family and community and culture and the power of speaking out and sticking up for who and what you love, and how much more difficult that is as an adolescent.
Arturo's family owns a restaurant in Florida and his abuela was the original cook and her personality is the heart and soul of the place. Everyone loves seeing her around and how she knows and cares about them. Now someone new has come to town and is trying to open a huge building. How will this affect their family restaurant? How will this affect the community? How will this affect Arturo's family?
A great realistic fiction story that covers a lot of ground from family, love, poetry, friendship, and even a touch of activism. Engaging read of a large variety of readers, Arturo is very relatable.
A great realistic fiction story that covers a lot of ground from family, love, poetry, friendship, and even a touch of activism. Engaging read of a large variety of readers, Arturo is very relatable.
Not entirely sure where the “big, epic fail” could even possibly happen, but a good story regardless.
Arturo's family is centered around the restaurant founded by his grandparents. La Cocina de la Isla is a popular meeting place in their neighborhood -- Abuela knows everyone and they all love her. That is until Wilfredo Pipo comes to town. Pipo is a real estate developer and he has a grand plan to "improve" their neighborhood. He tries to win over the community before a big council vote with all sorts of freebies and parties. With Abuela sick and Arturo's mom unwilling to act, Arturo and Carmen (a close family friend who has a crush on) take it upon themselves to figure out what is going on and how to stop it. The poems of Jose Marti and Arturo's grandparents' journey from Cuba are woven in throughout the story. Recommended for grades 4 & up.
ARC provided by publisher
ARC provided by publisher
“Enjoy courage. It is a wonderful thing to overcome fear.”
This coming of age story about Arturo and his family and they fight to save his Abuela’s restaurant from the evil land developer was sweet and reinforced the ideas of courage, community and the importance of family.
I felt that the community didn’t really do much to help save the restaurant and were so quick to ditch the Zaturos for free sushi and entertainment! The land developer had absolutely no heart when he called out Arturo and no one defended him. They just watched silently as a grown man belittling a child.
Also, they brought up that the restaurant might have been a heritage building but didn’t do anything to use that to build their case for not tearing it down.
I liked the message, but not so much the execution.
This coming of age story about Arturo and his family and they fight to save his Abuela’s restaurant from the evil land developer was sweet and reinforced the ideas of courage, community and the importance of family.
I felt that the community didn’t really do much to help save the restaurant and were so quick to ditch the Zaturos for free sushi and entertainment! The land developer had absolutely no heart when he called out Arturo and no one defended him. They just watched silently as a grown man belittling a child.
Also, they brought up that the restaurant might have been a heritage building but didn’t do anything to use that to build their case for not tearing it down.
I liked the message, but not so much the execution.