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maryhannawilson's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Merci Suárez is beginning sixth grade at a private school where she and her brother, Roli, are scholarship students. Merci will navigate the ins and outs of middle school friendships while balancing some of the situations going on at home. The book does a good job exploring themes of class, family, friendship, and aging.
I picked this one up because it won the Newberry a few years ago and I am reading Newberry winners currently. I can understand why it won. Merci is a likable character who is facing a lot of unique as well as relatable situations to kids navigating middle school. She lives with her family and her extended family at home, where her grandfather is showing signs of illness that no one will talk about honestly. She is struggling with a mean girl at school, a situation with a boy, and the feeling of being left out. Yep, it's hard being a tween.
It was a little hard for me to get going with this one, but once I got to know everyone and the story was going, I found myself immersed in Merci's world. Clearly, I am not the audience for the book so that might have made it tougher to get into in the beginning as I was taken back to school picture day - HA!
I enjoyed Merci's relationship with her family as she navigated a situation with her grandfather. She is trying to figure out what is happening while staying loyal to her granddad. It's a tricky situation and I thought it was portrayed very realistically. So many kids feel ready to be included in adult conversations before the adults are ready for them to be included - which is what happens here.
I thought her family was full of complex characters who each had their quirks and personalities. I enjoyed them and their interactions with Merci.
I loved the bike connection in the title and the ending lines as well as her mode of transportation in the book. That was fun and will lead to a good book club discussion with my students online.
I picked this one up because it won the Newberry a few years ago and I am reading Newberry winners currently. I can understand why it won. Merci is a likable character who is facing a lot of unique as well as relatable situations to kids navigating middle school. She lives with her family and her extended family at home, where her grandfather is showing signs of illness that no one will talk about honestly. She is struggling with a mean girl at school, a situation with a boy, and the feeling of being left out. Yep, it's hard being a tween.
It was a little hard for me to get going with this one, but once I got to know everyone and the story was going, I found myself immersed in Merci's world. Clearly, I am not the audience for the book so that might have made it tougher to get into in the beginning as I was taken back to school picture day - HA!
I enjoyed Merci's relationship with her family as she navigated a situation with her grandfather. She is trying to figure out what is happening while staying loyal to her granddad. It's a tricky situation and I thought it was portrayed very realistically. So many kids feel ready to be included in adult conversations before the adults are ready for them to be included - which is what happens here.
I thought her family was full of complex characters who each had their quirks and personalities. I enjoyed them and their interactions with Merci.
I loved the bike connection in the title and the ending lines as well as her mode of transportation in the book. That was fun and will lead to a good book club discussion with my students online.
laughing_llama's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
theresa__13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thank you Meg Medina <3
jaij7's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this story about a middle school girl and how things around her and herself are changing. It’s a story about growing up and what happens around us as we do.
tessakris's review against another edition
4.0
This won the Newbery award recently, and honestly I expected a little more out of it for that reason. This is one of the books that I listed as an option for my Spanish students for a book report project. Merci is beginning 6th grade at a fancy school & she’s on scholarship. I thought that the challenges she faced were pretty realistic & it was interesting to see her experience with discovering that her grandfather had Alzheimer’s after reading “Still Alice” recently. I liked what ended up happening with Michael & I thought that the school secretary was totally over the top.
shaundell's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet book about Merci, who lives in Florida, and has a few struggles at school and at home with her grandfather who is beginning to see the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
5.0
Merci is having a rough start to 6th grade. Her Lolo is acting strangely and no one in the family will tell her why. The school’s mean queen bee makes fun of her and puts her down constantly, especially since Merci has been forced to be a Sunshine buddy with the new boy at school who the queen bee has a crush on. Also, Merci wants to play soccer for her school really badly, but Mami keeps forgetting to sign the permission slip. How will she handle it all?
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
Merci lives with her extended family in one of three houses they call Las Casitas. She and her brother attend a private school on scholarship so we see how life is different for the Suarez family. Money is tight, so everyone pitches in and makes sacrifices. Still, their lives are rich in love and tradition.
The events and characters keep the reader pulled in to Merci’s world as she notices that her grandfather is changing and beginning to behave oddly.
Recommend especially to students going through similar experiences.
The events and characters keep the reader pulled in to Merci’s world as she notices that her grandfather is changing and beginning to behave oddly.
Recommend especially to students going through similar experiences.
sara_hudson's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read this masterpiece for maybe the 4th time and I might love it even more. Meg Medina is one of the very best in the business at writing about sprawling intergenerational families but never losing the voice of the central character and never reducing the secondary characters to stock stereotypes. Merci is nuanced and honest - just like Meg and her writing. The whole series is wonderful, changing in maturity as Merci grows up. Merci is a little girl in the first book, an awkward tween in the second, and a young teen gaining in confidence as the trilogy ends.
This book is also perfect for families who are facing dementia in their midst. Meg handles Lolo's decline with such care and grace.
This book is also perfect for families who are facing dementia in their midst. Meg handles Lolo's decline with such care and grace.
mipa_jt's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5