A Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of 2021
In Meg Medina's follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Merci
takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family,
love--and finding your rhythm.
Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science
she's got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her
brother, Roli. She's been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store
with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might
actually like. And she's tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who
is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the
annual Heart Ball.
One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can't dance--not at the
Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love
does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a
new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can't seem to avoid love or
dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her
grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer's getting worse each day, whom
can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in
her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about
growing up and discovering love's many forms, including how we learn to
love and believe in ourselves.