Under the Mesquite
Product ID: 5739392
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Pura Belpré Author Award Winner - American Library Association (ALA) Lupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit Mexican American immigrant family, comes of age as she struggles with adult responsibilities during her mother's long illness. As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead-and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script. In the midst of juggling life as a high school student, testing her wings as an actress, and dealing with friends who don't always understand, Lupita desperately wants to support Mami in whatever way she can. While her father stays with Mami at an out-of-town clinic, Lupita takes charge of her siblings. As Lupita struggles to keep the family afloat, she escapes the chaos of home by writing in the shade of a mesquite tree. Overwhelmed by change and loss, she takes refuge in the healing power of words. Told with honest emotion in evocative free verse, Lupita's journey is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about the testing of family bonds, the strength of a young woman navigating pain and hardship with surprising resilience, and the kind of love that cannot be uprooted. Review: Beautiful written book. - For full synopsis please see above. Written in free verse Under the Mesquite is the story of Lupe and her family not only dealing with her mother's illness and death but it is also a view into the life of Mexican-Americans. Wanting their children to have a good education and a better life than possible in Mexico, the family moves to a border town in Texas although they visit their relatives often. We learn about the move, the birth of more siblings, the dad working far away, the siblings relationships, the mom's illness and the aftermath of her death. The writing is beautiful and sprinkled with spanish words and phrases. Since I now work in a school with many native Spanish speaking students I have already introduced this book to some students. Many have never read a book written in this style and between that and the Spanish they are lining up to check it out. Recommended for 5th grade and up. Read it as an arc courtesy of Lee & Low Books via Netgalley. Review: Amazing message and story line - This book is amazing! I love the style of writing this book through poems, I write poetry too for expressing emotions and thoughts. I feel that this story is a great message and shows many things because mainly it's all in poetry and poetry is the writing style that you can express more.
| Best Sellers Rank | #365,435 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #131 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Being a Teen (Books) #142 in Teen & Young Adult Parents Fiction #250 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 299 Reviews |
L**Z
Beautiful written book.
For full synopsis please see above. Written in free verse Under the Mesquite is the story of Lupe and her family not only dealing with her mother's illness and death but it is also a view into the life of Mexican-Americans. Wanting their children to have a good education and a better life than possible in Mexico, the family moves to a border town in Texas although they visit their relatives often. We learn about the move, the birth of more siblings, the dad working far away, the siblings relationships, the mom's illness and the aftermath of her death. The writing is beautiful and sprinkled with spanish words and phrases. Since I now work in a school with many native Spanish speaking students I have already introduced this book to some students. Many have never read a book written in this style and between that and the Spanish they are lining up to check it out. Recommended for 5th grade and up. Read it as an arc courtesy of Lee & Low Books via Netgalley.
K**R
Amazing message and story line
This book is amazing! I love the style of writing this book through poems, I write poetry too for expressing emotions and thoughts. I feel that this story is a great message and shows many things because mainly it's all in poetry and poetry is the writing style that you can express more.
B**N
Under the Mesquite
The reason I picked four stars is because I thought it was a good book and had a nice story to tell but there were some parts where I got bored and also the Spanish was confusing and it was hard going to the back of the book and back to the page I was at but in all I am happy that this book was on my summer reading list. ; )
M**N
Family Ties
Under the Mesquite was a very sweet book. It touched me to see the dedication of the young woman to her family. With all the burden she assumed she never lost sight of her high goals in life. The ties of the young author to her mother were admirable. This young woman was strong and wise beyond her years. I found this story very telling of the warmth, love and duty exemplified in most Mexican families.
B**E
beautiful literary work!
This book will invoke a whole spectrum of emotions. What a beautiful tribute to the author's mother. The book reveals the challenges families face and the strength derived from love of family. This book is very inspiring. We plan to introduce this chapter book (written in poetry) to participants in our teen girls' summer camps. I can hardly wait to hear the discussions!
S**F
a strong young woman
This is a beautiful, heartbreaking verse novel about a teenage girl named Lupita whose mom is stricken with cancer. As Lupita faces the possibility of losing her mom, she holds things together at school by being true to herself amid the opposition of friends and at home by taking care of her siblings. She takes solace in acting in drama class and writing in her notebook under a mesquite tree. Lupita is a strong young woman; pain and grief won't conquer her.
L**Y
perseverance and grit
A beautiful story of survival and resilience through a family crisis. Garcia McCalls novel in verse is poignant and an engaging read. I can see why it won the Pura Belpre Medal.
C**E
A Universal Coming-of-Age Story told through the eyes of a Mexican American Teen
Told in beautiful free verse, this is a moving coming-of-age tale about Lupita & her loving Mexican American family. Lupita must grow up & find her way while coping with her mom’s illness & family expectations. An authentic & hopeful book that I highly recommend.
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