Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Winner of the Newbery Medal
A New York Times Bestseller

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.

Years ago, while I was in school, a girl in a rabbit-fur jacket surrounded me in the school yard and announced that one of our school bullies, a Latina girl named Jackie, was coming to beat me up, she says in Yaqui Delgado Wants to Beat Your Ass. What I recall most vividly from that period is my loneliness, as well as all of the reckless decisions I made in my pursuit for a tough-girl shell capable of withstanding any attack. But when I battled my fear of going to school, I transformed into someone else entirely. In order to appear fierce and impenetrable to Jackie and the rest of the world, I hid every aptitude and interest I have.

As a student, a young woman, and a Latina, it was a battle to find my identity and inner power. I was fighting for my honor. Meg Medina grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia, as the daughter of Cuban immigrants.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780763690496
ISBN 10	076369049X
Title	Merci Suarez Changes Gears
Author	Meg Medina
Series	Merci Suárez
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Candlewick Press,U.S.
Year published	2018-09-11
Number of pages	368
Prizes	Winner of Newbery Medal Winner 2019, Short-listed for Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature 2018
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.