Pablo Cartaya

When his family's restaurant and Cuban American neighborhood in Miami are threatened by a greedy land developer, thirteen-year-old Arturo, joined by Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast, fight back, discovering the power of poetry and protest through unt

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Sarah Sammis

I happened to read Arturo Zamora on the heels of a similar situation in our own neighborhood. Here, it was a bookstore, but the story was otherwise the same: an outside developer was threatening to close a fifty-year-old institution so that they could redevelop an old building into work-live-lofts. There's no actual evidence that our city has the need for that sort of development but there was no arguing with faceless developers

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Kim Tyo-Dickerson

This is the practically perfect, #ownvoices summer read, starring a huge, loving Cuban American family, middle school crushes, community activism, multilingual families, cherished grandparents, rock-solid bros who have Arturo's back, and poetry. 

Recommended for ages 10+, but so great for middle school students who are at just the right interest level for Arturo's story.

Jeni Enjaian

I waited way too long to recap this book so my memories are less than fresh.

However, I do remember absolutely loving this book and the highly relatable nature of the story and the narrator, Arturo. I also loved how realistically Cartaya wove Spanish in with English. He clearly relates to this code switching from real life.

I definitely recommend this book, especially to Hispanic American young adults.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

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