MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Güero, 12yo, is a light skinned Mexican American who lives on the border, literally and figuratively. He is as comfortable speaking Spanish as he is speaking English, and he has family on both sides of the river. This year he is starting 7th grade with some great friends, a wonderful teacher who gets his poetry, and maybe a girlfriend.
I expected this to be about the problems of living on the border, and, while there were poems which addressed crossing between the United States and Mexico, and dealing with generational racism, for the most part it is about a middle school boy enjoying his family traditions, getting in trouble with his friends and negotiating adolescence. Although not technically a novel in verse, the poems are organized beautifully, so we feel we've spent some quality time with this boy and his friends and family. I loved this collection and can't wait to recommend it in my library. There is a lot of Spanish incorporated into the English poetry, so the author has included a five page glossary and pronunciation guide.
Lisa Librarian
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