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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Miss Quinces
Author: Kat Fajardo Publisher: Graphix
Year: 2022 Good for Grades: 3-8 Genre/Type of Book: Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Death of a grandparent
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Great cover, always a fan of graphic novels
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: To quinceañera or not to quinceañera, that is the question!
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Review:
Suyapa (Sue) is upset that all of her friends are getting to go to camp this summer, but she has to go Honduras to spend time with her family. They have a big art project to finish for the summer, and she doesn't think that traveling to Honduras is going to be interesting enough to write about, plus she feels like her family doesn't really "get" her. Once she arrives in Honduras, it turns out her mom has arranged for an entire quinceañera, WITHOUT her permission! Sue and her mom make a deal- Sue goes through with the quinceañera, and her mom will let her go to camp with her friends when they get back home. With urging from her Abuelita and the promise of camp, Sue agrees. But, it is going to be a lot of work and attention on her. Can she understand what a quinces is really about? Will she go through with it?
This is a great graphic novel for the middle grade set that deals with the age-old issue of feeling out of place and realizing that being yourself is the best thing you can be. Suyapa is the odd-duck in her family, struggles with Spanish, and doesn't like anything pink or girly. When she's tricked into having a quinceañera, she makes a deal with her mom but ends up finding her own motivation to share in the age-old tradition. After the death of her grandmother, she has even more reason to do the quinceañera as a way to honor her memory and embrace her true self. This story is also full of humor and family antics that anyone can relate to. Sue is the middle sister, so she's got two sisters who make her life (and the story) interesting. Honduras is also a very different setting than most of us are used to, so we get to enjoy a story very different from our own. At the end, the author has a great note about positive representation and her own growing up Latine in the US. Then, she adds notes about quinceañeras with lots of pictures that help the reader understand more about the traditions mentioned in the book. I loved learning about why they were included, and the author used pictures from her own quince to illustrate!
The character designs in this story are so cute- Sue has wild hair throughout which sets her apart, and the different skin tones within Sue's family brought light to how much diversity there can be within an identity. It helps to dispel the monoculture idea/stereotypes that all people of a certain nationality look the same. Within her own nuclear family, there are 5 different skin tones represented! It is also lovely to see Sue grow throughout the story into a more confident person who understands and embraces who she is, and for her family to accept her more as well.
This book would be great for learning about Latin cultures and traditions (especially the quinceañera,) and would help in an SEL unit about confidence, empathy, or even conflict resolution. The cover shows Sue is the disheveled princess in combat boots with a party falling down around her, which is very eye catching. Kids who feel out-of-place with what people expect of them might really see themselves in it and scoop it up, and graphic novel fans will reach for it.
Number of party hats:
Find this video and other resources for Miss Quinces at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website
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