Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal
Thoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates
difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between in a
resonant new novel from Meg Medina.
Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no
idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the
other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older
brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or
a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for
their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new
boy who happens to be Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci
becomes the target of Edna's jealousy. Things aren't going well at home,
either: Merci's grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting
strangely lately -- forgetting important things, falling from his bike,
and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci
what's going on, so she's left to her own worries, while also feeling
all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and
wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the
confusion and constant change that defines middle school -- and the
steadfast connection that defines family.