Name: Lupe Wong Won't Dance
ISBN: 9781646140039

Donna Barba Higuera

"Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy ... like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much...like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who's Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she's not gonna let that slide."--Provided by publisher.

Lupe Wong Won't Dance

Crystal Okonkwo

I really like Lupe Wong the character. She was so determined to meet her idol and made me want to meet mine as well. Her family dynamic shows interracial families in a light that is rarely seen in books, TV shows and movies even though they’re everywhere worldwide. Her friendships are so wholesome and they are really mature for their age. I kinda wish there was a flashback with her Dad to get a sense of his personality firsthand instead of secondhand knowledge.

Tiffanie Dang

I was sent a free eBook copy of this in exchange for an honest review by the publisher as part of the blog tour.

This #ownvoices book tackles so many issues: racism, sexism/gender inequality, grief, and bullying, while managing to be laugh-out-loud funny with humor that’s relatable to middle schoolers. I went through a roller coaster of emotions while reading this book in one night. I knew exactly how Lupe felt when she found out she had to square dance in P.E. class...I still remember the horror of it in elementary school when kids were afraid of cooties from touching someone of the other gender. Thankfully, square dancing didn’t carry over to middle school or high school for me. But poor Lupe! She tries and tries to eradicate square dancing from her existence forever, but each attempt backfires spectacularly in her face. I really enjoyed watching her grow as a character throughout the book and my heart went out to her when she was bullied by others just for being biracial. I totally agree that kids can be evil when they’re young! But they also be kind and loyal and compassionate, as shown with other characters. Niles was my favorite of their friend group and I’m really glad to see the author had a sensitivity reader for autism, since Niles had it. There were a lot of cringe-worthy moments and times when I shook my head at Lupe’s decisions, but it felt authentic to how a middle-schooler would act. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, since I’m not generally a fan of sports, but I’m happy I was able to read this early! My family is Chinese and I could relate to all the tidbits about Lupe’s Chinese grandparents’ reactions to things and their mindsets on certain aspects of life. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of gender identity or race because there is so much humanity in these characters that others could learn from.

I have a spoiler-free review video for this on my BookTube channel: https://youtu.be/kCK4MtRDs4s

Lupe Wong Won't Dance

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