Book

Under the mesquite / Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

Summary:

Lupita, the oldest of eight siblings, is used to taking the lead - and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discover Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of their close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script. In the midst of juggling high school classes, finding her voice as an actress, and dealing with friends who don't always understand, Lupita desperately wants to support Mami in whatever way she can. While Papi is preoccupied with caring for Mami, Lupita takes charge of her siblings. As Lupita struggles to keep the family afloat, she escapes the chaos at home by writing in the shade of a mesquite tree. Overwhelmed by change, she seeks refuge in the healing power of words. Told with honest emotion in evocative free verse, Lupita's journey is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about the testing of family bonds, the strength of a teenage girl navigating pain and hardship with surprising resilience, and the kind of love that cannot be uprooted. -- From dust jacket.

Record details

ISBN: 9781600604294 (hardcover ; alk. paper)
ISBN: 1600604293 (hardcover ; alk. paper)
ISBN: 9781600608759
ISBN: 1600608752
Physical Description: 224 pages ; 22 cm.
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Lee & Low Books, [2011]

Content descriptions

General Note:	"Reinforced binding"--Jacket.
Formatted Contents Note:	Part one. The weight of words: The story of us : Eagle Pass, Texas, freshman year of high school -- Thorns -- Something's different -- Chismosa -- The talk -- The sacrifice. -- Part two. Remembering: Six years old, Pedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico -- The gift of words -- Uprooted -- En los estados unidos -- Sisters -- Bebés. -- Part three. Crossing borders: After the storm : summer after freshman year -- Elotes : Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, sophomore year -- Las telenovelas -- Drama -- Quinceañera -- Señorita To be or not to be Mexican -- Swimming the Rio Grande : San Vincente, Coahuila, Mexico -- The notebook -- On the way -- A moment in the spotlight. -- Part four. Give us this day: News : junior year -- Mami's roses -- The actress -- What's gone -- A simple plan -- Mother, may I : summer after junior year -- Making tortillas -- A mesquite in the rose garden -- Pomegranates, perch, and roasted doves -- Ice cream from heaven. -- Part five. Cut like a diamond: Mami's home : senior year -- Good-bye to Mexico : San Vincente, Coahuila, Mexico -- Apparition -- The natural -- At the hospital -- A night to remember -- Mi madre. -- Part six . Words on the wind: Poems from under the mesquite -- Changes : summer after senior year -- At abuelita's house : Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico -- Homecoming -- Permission -- The bus ticket -- In the parking lot : Alpine, Texas. -- Acknowledgments -- Names, Spanish words, and cultural references.
Target Audience Note:	Young Adult. 990L Lexile.
Study Program Information Note:	Accelerated Reader blank 5.7 3.0 106917.
Awards Note:	William C. Morris Award finalist, 2012 Pura Belpré Author Award, 2012 Morris Debut Award finalist, 2012 Américas Award Honorable Mention, 2012 Tom̀s Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, 2013