Newbery Award winning book. You can tell when an author is talented when they can mesh together a series of themes in a book without making it seem convoluted, preachy or otherwise.Virgil Salinas is from a loving family of Filipino descent and sometimes feels a little overlooked. For starters, his older twin brothers are sport-loving and outgoing. His mother calls him Turtle and at times he feels like a turtle putting his head in his shell, especially when it comes to his regular run-ins with his tormentor Chet Bullens. He also wants to make himself known to a classmate, but is too shy to approach her.
Lola, Virgil's awesome grandma dispenses her own brand of homespun wisdom and advice to Virgil. Luckily he can also count on a friend to help with the second of these problems and it is while trying to do this that something unfortunate occurs. It is then that we see just big people's hearts are and how the universe works things out in its own time.
If you've read this blog at all you know how much I absolutely love finding books featuring diverse characters. Kids from different backgrounds need to see themselves represented. This book has several which is refreshing, I won't give away some of it if you haven't read it however. I recommend this book for ages 9 and up. Some read alikes are Lynda Hunt's Fish in a Tree, E.L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday and Sarah Weeks' Save Me a Seat.
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