A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can
thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC
FAIL?
For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark,
sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe
a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela's restaurant.
Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who
moves into Arturo's apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep
fryer. He almost doesn't notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into
town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and
community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo
discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories
and the work of José Martí.
Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant
story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to
save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.