Language: R (21 swears 4 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
14yo Almudena is spending the summer with her father. Her parents hadn't been together since she was a baby, and this was really the first time they'd met, but her mom is on a dance tour for the summer and Almudena needed a place to stay; her father is renovating an old Brownstone, and Almudena is expected to help. At first things are terrible, her father hardly speaks any English, and a friend of his needs to translate for her. The food is different, the neighborhood is unfamiliar, and the boys her age call her off-brand. She just doesn't fit in, but maybe this summer could be the start to getting her parents back together.
Brownstone is a great read for my 8th and 9th graders! I love that Almudena is a 14yo who acts like one. There's a bit of language, but not as much swearing as I expected for a raw story about a teenager. It takes place in 1995, so they aren't all about their cell phones and computers, and there's some angst about a character coming out and an adult who is concerned that Almudena has a friend who is a lesbian. Also, there's a lot of non-translated Spanish. I loved it because it shows Almudena's language gap with her father. The Community is diverse and most speak Spanish, Almudena's father is from Guatemala but she has been raised by her white mother.
Lisa Librarian
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