I have no shame in my game!! I love a good story and I don't care if it is a picture book, young reader or a middle grade, YA (my favorite area to read from), or adult. A good story is a good story. And as a bookseller with a dream of someday owning my own books store I consider it research for work.
That being said I am working my way through the collection of Rick Riordan Presents series. I read Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1) and I loved it. I have book 2 and haven't got to read it yet but I will. I decided to read the Rick Riordan Presents books in paperback so there will be waiting for releases and when I am done I will be donating them to the classroom library of a middle school teacher friend. Well except for Pandava #2 which I have in hardcover because it was part of a half price deal awhile back.
The great thing about these books is that each series explores a different culture, has characters that are BIPOC, has girls that are smart and powerful, and has stories where girls can be the heroes. Something I tell people who come into the bookstore I work in when they ask for children's books that are boy's books or girl's books is that there are no such things, there are just books for children and that girls and children who aren't white have been reading stories for generations that had boys (and most often white boys) as the stars so it won't do any harm for their boys to read stories with girls as the main characters.
Ok, so all of that and now I am going to tell you about this one...I LOVED IT!! I'm going to share a little more by way of details than I normally do because with this book being written for the middle grade content could be a factor when deciding if it is write for your middle schooler.
The majority of the characters in this story are Cuban or of Cuban descent.
Sal is starting a new school in Miami after moving with his father and "American Stepmother" from Connecticut. His mother died 5 years prior to the time the story takes place. He loves his father and stepmother and why she is called "American Stepmother" is explained and it is loving and kind, you just have to wait for the telling. This story is told from Sal's POV and he gets to things in his own way and time. He is a diabetic and he talks openly about it, having to eat on time, the worries if he doesn't, checking his glucose, and what he can and can't eat as well has being in the hospital. And his mother and her being dead play a huge part of the story.
Gabi is a student at Sal's new school. An amazing school by the way, one that as a parent I wish was real. She is super smart and quite and old soul. Her family is amazing and it is a beautiful example of building a family based on love and not just blood. You will want to be part of this family!!
Gabi and Sal don't become friends right away but are surprised by how quickly they realize they are really and truly friends, fastest friends ever they say. There is another student that Gabi is friends with and looks out for, Yasmany, and his story isn't explicitly told but it is slowly revealed he is being abused in some way (no details) by his mother. His story has a happy ending at least in this volume of the story, he is taken under the wing of Gabi's huge-built-on-love family (along with Sal and his family).
Sal talks a lot about the therapy he has had and how he learned some amazing coping skills and we see him using them. There isn't any shame or stigma attached and it is stressed, often by Sal, that feeling feelings is ok. He places great weight on being kind. Sal loves magic and how he learned it and why are part of his coping skills.
But there is something else about Sal that is quite amazing. He can cut holes into the multiverse and interact with which ever verse he is in. There is some science behind it and is huge part of the story. It is really neat and I think while for adults we may shake our heads and find it a little "unreal" it is fun and enjoyable and middle school kids will really like it (I think so anyway). One of the things that you should be aware of before putting this into the hands of a middle schooler is that one of the things that happens with the super power (for lack of a better way of describing it) is bringing a version of his mother from another universe over to this one.
Anyway, I found this a fun and interesting and touching story. I love Sal and Gabi. I love the adults in their lives. And I will read more about them!!
(Finished August 20, 2020)
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