Author: Rebecca Balcarcel
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Beyond the Green by Sharlee Mullins Glenn
Rating:
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| lots to think about here |
Summary (provided by publisher): Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American : When Quijana's Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn't know more about her family's heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy : When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she's found true friends. But she can't help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up : Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what's going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother.
In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcarcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong.
My opinion: In our culture, there's this push for imigrants to assimilate. This can leave them and their children in a cultural limbo, not really fitting in with the general public but clearly isolated from their own family. Add in general struggles to fit in when you're in your middle school years, family with health problems, the worries that can come along with having a neuro-atypical sibling and you have a fair amount to explore in this book. Perhaps, one might argue, too much, especially when you add in first crushes and increasingly complex lies. This is not a comfortable read and doesn't resolve in neat and tidy ways. But it has a ring of truth that will resonate with middle graders.
More information: The Other Half of Happy releases August 20
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
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