merci suarez changes gears by meg medina

Medina captures all the awkwardness and unexpected changes of life in the sixth grade, and she pairs that with a convincing portrayal of Merci Suárez's beloved grandfather succumbing to Alzheimer's disease. This book is heartwarming and bittersweet with a sugar-dusting of humor. She is a faculty member of Hamline University’s Masters of Fine Arts in Children’s Literature and lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia. When she’s not writing, Meg works on community projects that support girls, Latino youth, and/or literacy. She is a two-time winner of the Pura Belpré award, in 2016 (honor) for her picture book, MANGO, ABUELA AND ME, and in 2014 (fiction medal) for her young adult novel, YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. Her works have been called “heartbreaking,” “lyrical” and “must haves for every collection.” Her books include the Suárez family trilogy including Merci Suárez Changes Gears, 2019 John Newbery Medal winner, and 2019 Charlotte Huck Honor Book Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, one of the 50 most anticipated novels of 2021, according to Kirkus and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool, which was named a Best Book of 2022 by PARENTS, Kirkus, and The Horn Book magazines. She is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author who writes picture books, as well as middle grade and young adult fiction. Meg Medina is the current National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. 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 changes gears by meg medina