A review by shelvedthoughts
Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre

funny informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

 Reader’s Notes:

– this is told from Iggy’s point of view

– this occurs during the 2016 election/beginning of the school year (so there is some talk of politics – specifically about Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton, as well as how the resulting vote affected/would affect the Latino community)

– there is one Spanish curse word used a few times (maybe 5 uses?)

Review:

I had kinda thought that this would be mainly focusing on Iggy’s developing romance, and while it is a big part of the storyline, I was actually happily surprised that something else was a bigger part of this story. I loved learning more about Iggy’s heritage through his abuelito, as well as the struggles some Latinos in America face/have faced. I really enjoyed abuelito’s commentary on the things others would say or do around Iggy. Some of the things he said made me laugh. I really liked that this was a quick and enjoyable read!

Summary:

Iggy is starting his freshman year of high school, but is off to a rough start. Between being placed in Spanish instead of French, accidentally running into a girl causing coffee to spill on both of them, and dealing with his older brother things aren’t the best. But with the issues comes opportunities. By being placed in Spanish, Iggy has a chance to talk to his crush and have conversations with her, but with his limited knowledge of his ancestor’s language he doesn’t have a great time keeping her interest. Until one day, Iggy accidentally finds his grandfather’s ashes and meets his ghost. His abuelito wants to learn about his grandson’s life in America and help him with his daily struggles. Only, Iggy will find that his abuelito isn’t as all knowing as he seemed, and maybe there’s more to life than Iggy once thought…