Review of Newbery Medal Winner: Merci Suarez Changes Gears


Summary:

Merci and her brother are Cuban-American scholarship students at their private school in Florida. Merci never feels like she belongs. Mean girl Edna has a plan to make Merci’s life miserable, and things at home are hard, too. Something is wrong with the way Grandpa is acting. He’s forgetting things he knows, he falls, and since when did he have a temper? No one in the family will talk about it, leaving Merci to feel alone at home and at school.

Criteria: Merci Suarez changes gears fit the criteria in the books I was looking for: it was published in the last 10 years, I had not read it previously, and it is a Newberry Medal winner. Booklist referred to it as a must-read and the Horn Book Guide points out that the natural use of Spanish (language) builds authenticity.


Response: 

Style and Language
Since Merci is the age of the students I teach, it is relevant to my current job. Author Meg Medina does an excellent job of capturing the highs and lows of middle school, including mean girls. It wasn't only a story about middle school, it included a glimpse into Merci's family life, complete with sprinkles of Spanish language. The style was easy to read and reflective of a 6th grader's point of view and language. 

Accuracy
Merci Suarez is a person with a life outside of middle school, just like each of my students. The book explores what it's like for a child to try to grow up and be responsible and learn and do all the right things. It was a good reminder to me as a teacher that my students are whole people with hopes, dreams, and hurts. Overall I highly recommend Merci Suarez. It is funny and entertaining while allowing us to peek into another 6th grader's thoughts for a bit.

Setting
Ms. Medina does such a good job of setting the scenes for all of the book. Without cumbersome or tedious descriptions, I still felt like I had an image of each place described in the book. We know Merci lives in Florida, so the mild climate and very warm summers were mentioned. The private school where Merci is a student seemed to be a sprawling, swanky campus, and Merci lives in a row of three houses were all of her family (including grandparents, aunt, and cousins) resides, in what they called Las Casitas, or "little houses."

Medina. (2018). Merci Suárez changes gears. Candlewick Press. 

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