Los amigos mejores son libros - Books are your best friends
Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez is chock full of Dichos, or Spanish proverbs. Lina is having a hard time. Her mother died for no good reason, who dies from a cut on their leg? Her father the English teacher is hiding in his books, her best friend is hiding her boyfriend from her divorced man-hating mother and Lina's grade are slipping so she can't play any sports. Lina feels like her life is out of control and no one is listening to her. Instead of writing chapter summaries for Watership Down, she makes up a story instead. It isn't until her counselor points out that she's writing about herself and needs to finish the story that Lina starts to get her life under control.
The sense of south Texas and the Latino culture seeps from this book in a fun and approachable way, even for readers who have never heard a dicho before. Lina's feelings of frustration and abandonment are believable and heart wrenching. The cascarones, hollowed eggshells filled with confetti, are a metaphor for Lina's life as it changes.
Rating: 4 out of 5
This title will be published in June.
To suggest other titles to the committee, please email newberysuggestions@kcls.org.
Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez is chock full of Dichos, or Spanish proverbs. Lina is having a hard time. Her mother died for no good reason, who dies from a cut on their leg? Her father the English teacher is hiding in his books, her best friend is hiding her boyfriend from her divorced man-hating mother and Lina's grade are slipping so she can't play any sports. Lina feels like her life is out of control and no one is listening to her. Instead of writing chapter summaries for Watership Down, she makes up a story instead. It isn't until her counselor points out that she's writing about herself and needs to finish the story that Lina starts to get her life under control.
The sense of south Texas and the Latino culture seeps from this book in a fun and approachable way, even for readers who have never heard a dicho before. Lina's feelings of frustration and abandonment are believable and heart wrenching. The cascarones, hollowed eggshells filled with confetti, are a metaphor for Lina's life as it changes.
Rating: 4 out of 5
This title will be published in June.
To suggest other titles to the committee, please email newberysuggestions@kcls.org.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and think it's a good first novel. The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the feelings they have are well-expressed. The reader learns a lot about S. Texas culture, but doesn't feel lectured at while doing so. Good crossover interest level too.