The Winner!

This year's Newbery Winner was Merci Suárez Changes Gears.  For the past few years I have been following this group on Goodreads, but this year I decided that I won't do it just because last year there quite a few that I was unable to read because they were not available on audio.  It's a great group!  And if you can read a book and don't have to listen to it, you will really enjoy the group!  It has a lot of great members and everyone has great insight.  I don't think that this was one of the books that the group read last year, but I have to say, I found it to be very Newbery-Worthy.  It certainly was no 1954.  But I didn't like Merci all that much as a character.  But again, that probably just means it was a very well-written, realistic portrayal of a "real" person.   I still think Ghost Boys was my pick and I am surprised it didn't get named as an honor even.  But that's the way the Newbery goes sometimes.

The G Word

Gentrification is an ugly word.  The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora had my heart right away because of that.  Plus it is just a really good book!

Ummm...Tacos....

In my quest to make David Levithan like me, I have been on this diet for three years and seven months.  As of my last weigh-in, I am down 210 pounds, weighing in at 128.  Mr. Levithan?  Would I be a good character in your book now???
Needless to say, it has been a long time since I have had a taco.
The food Stef's Papi cooks on his food truck in Stef Soto, Taco Queen sounds delicious!
Here is what I loved about SSTQ:  it totally was not predictable, when it totally could have been!  There were times when I thought, "oh no, here it comes, this is going to happen, then that is going to happen" and NONE of it happened!  Sweet story.  Loved it.

Something Else...

Thanks for the Trouble is the second book I have read by Tommy Wallach. Last year, when I wasn't writing reviews, I read And We All Looked Up.  and I liked it very much!  I was just thinking that I need to read more by Wallach, but so far, he has just published these two, but I am looking forward to his next with great eagerness!  This was just soooo good.  Really, really good.  I am really surprised that this didn't get up on a Printz watch list (not that I know of anyway) because it is THAT good, I think!  The whole thing is written in form of a college application essay.  Just some good, good, unusual stuff.  Honest and real (even though it is magical realism, maybe?) Just good.

Reading through the USA

I have been trying to find a book set in Delaware.  Harder than you think, if you aren't a big fan of Colonial and/or Revolutionary American history. When I found The Book of Unknown Americans, I got super lucky.  The book is about a group of immigrants in Delaware from various countries.  Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela and I can't remember where else.  I guess I never thought of Delaware being a place with a lot of immigrants.  1 in 10 people in Delaware are Latino or Asian immigrants.  In PA this number is 1 in 11.  1 in 7 in Virginia.  There are more very interesting and easy to understand facts from the American Immigration Council here.
This seems to be one of those adult books that are good for teens as well. YALSA has this Alex Award for books that are made for adults, but would be good for teens.  It didn't make the list.  But it should have.  I can't begin to give a summary of this book.  So please, just read the goodreads description and then, please, please do read this book.  It is outstanding.

Pass the Soto, please

Okay I have no idea what that subject means.
Except, Soto kinda sounds like soda, but not really.
And we here in my corner of the world say "pop" anyway.
And also, I really like Gary Soto's books and so I am always happy to read another.
Off and Running was another one from a girl's POV.
This one is about two kids competing for class president.
It's kind a like an Andrew Clements book in that it just pops you back into middle school/upper early elementary so I just think that is a gift.

Gary Soto Binge

I have a new awesome author!  Gary Soto!

Thanks to Hoopla, I have found a new favorite author.  One good for dudes, too.  And not just white dudes, this guy adds a little diversity to my reading world.

The first was When Dad Came Back and is about a young man, Gabe, who is approached by his father, who had left him and his mom years ago.  His dad is not homeless and sick, and Gabe has to figure out how to help him, while dealing with all of the feelings that come from having his long-absent father back in his life.

The second Soto is The Summer on Wheels, in which two middle school boys decide to take a bike trek from East LA to Santa Monica Beach.

The third is Crazy Weekend and features the same boys from The Summer on Wheels, this time caught in a big bunch of trouble after having witnessed a robbery.

Most recently I finished Accidental Love, from a 14 year old girl's POV and I loved this book, too.  Marisa meets a boy whom she would usually dismiss as a nerd and their young love blossoms, but it is more than a love story.

Soto is a strong writer and can write just as well with a girl's POV as a guys.

I will add Instant Winner on here, too.  Just finished that, and really enjoyed it.  Not as much as the others, but still 4 star of 5 worthy!  It's about a kid whose uncle gives him a scratchy lottery ticket and he wins, around the same time that someone in his town wins big on the lottery.  The uncle in this story is a super fun character.

Each book also gives a window into Latino culture, in these cases, Mexican.

I especially liked it when Marisa said to her nerdy boyfriend that he had to toughen up.  That he was the man!  And he wore the pants in the relationship.

She said "you wear the pants, but I tell you what pants to wear."

Very cute.

I am looking forward to reading and recommending more from Mr. Soto.

Baseball Books

Baseball in April and Other Stories was an I-need-an-audiobook choice from the library.  I've never read a Gary Soto book and so I was glad to get one.  I love short stories and some of these were really wonderful.   They were based in part on Mr. Soto's growing up in California's Central Valley.  None were bad!  In fact, most were really great!  Some I just didn't get, you know?  So I had to give 4 of the 5 stars, but this book really is good.