(2) 4-6 The first day of sixth grade at Mendez Middle School is coming up, and Isaac Castillo's Amá expects him to become "más responsable": "no more forgetting my lunch, no more missing homework, no more detentions, no more bad grades. And most importantly, no more tears for Amá--at least not because of me." Isaac's parents are getting a divorce, and he hopes that his good behavior can keep the family together. Isaac's best friend, Marco Honeyman ("half-Jewish, half-Mexican"), lives next door, and his parents are divorcing, too. Unlike Isaac, he's a top student: "all geek awards, nothing my dad can brag about." Maybe if Marco plays a sport, he can make his father proud. Alternating first-person narrations effectively offer Isaac's and Marco's perspectives on their own experiences and on each other's. Isaac teaches Marco to play basketball, and Marco--who's truly bad at offense but is a scrappy defensive player--makes the team; the latter part of the novel features exciting basketball action. By the end, Isaac has indeed become more responsible, and his schoolwork is better. He has learned how much basketball is like life and school: "It pretty much comes down to the hustle we put in." Though their families don't come back together the way that they'd hoped, the boys do indeed make their loved ones proud. A well-told story of family, friends, basketball, and life.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 In this debut novel, winner of the 2021 Pura Belpré Medal for narrative, Cisneros introduces readers to an immigrant family whose desire for better opportunities means contending with cruel and politically motivated policies, backbreaking work for subsistence wages, and the constant threat of deportation. Seventh grader Efrén lives with his parents and twin five-year-old siblings in a one-room apartment in Southern California. He and the twins were born in the States, but their parents are both undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Conscientious Efrén is aware of the immigration raids happening in his neighborhood; he's heard the news stories and the laundromat gossip. He and his siblings know to go into "lockdown mode" in their apartment when they hear helicopters circling or sirens blaring. Still, he's able to enjoy the life he has with his loving, hard-working parents and in his friendly Mexican American neighborhood. The family's worst fears are realized, however, when his amá (mom) is deported. Efrén has to take responsibility for the twins (one of whom has behavioral challenges), the household, and his schoolwork. Spanish words and phrases, including some dialogue, lend authenticity to the narrative; while meaning can usually be gleaned in context, a twelve-page glossary provides English translations. Cisneros's vivid descriptions of Mexican and Mexican American culture, food, and traditions bring the characters and setting to life. The devastatingly realistic conclusion is heartbreaking and brutally makes clear the plight of undocumented immigrants in this country.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn