Hello, Readers! My name is Zelda, and I am blogging to you today as a guest and friend of Violet's! I know she is trying to retire, and she asked if I wouldn't mind sharing a book with you that I just finished reading (Vivi and I and a few other dogs belong to an online dog reading group...we call ourselves the Tall Tails Reading Group!). I'll try to do her past work justice...happy reading!!!
The Other Half of Happy is the story of Quijana, a 12-year-old girl living in Texas and trying to navigate a lot of what many of you navigate on a daily basis - school, crushes, family...what makes this such a good story is the reality of Quijana's life, as well as how she does (and doesn't) meet her many challenges. Her younger brother is quirky and becoming more so all the time, and as the older sister she often has to watch him while their parents work or run errands, which is not as simple as it sounds!
She is also trying to figure herself out, being born to a Guatemalan father and an Anglo mother. She doesn't speak Spanish, but is expected to travel to Guatemala with her family for the holidays. What she would rather do is go to Florida to see her other family, but to get there she would have to lie to her parents. The boy she likes seems to like her...but does he "like her" like her?
Author Balcarcel is a very good story teller, and with time I think you'll find yourself completely sucked into this story and Quijana's life. I will admit that it took me a minute to get into the story. The first third of the book seemed to drag a little. But I'm glad I kept reading and I hope you will, too, if you like above-average realistic fiction. Latinx perspectives, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, family struggles that are very realistically written...this book received a Pura Belpre Award, which means many others found it to be better-than-average as well! If you are still reading this post, give this book a try! Quijana is worth it! 4 paws!
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