Reviews
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 http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
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.
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.
