Thursday, October 5, 2023

Tumble by Celia C. Perez

 Adela loves her mom and her step dad, Alex, but when he asks her if he can adopt her, red flags go up in her mind.  She knows nothing about her biological dad, and her mother won't answer her questions about him.  With the help of a best friend, Adela does some snooping and discovers her bio-father comes from a famous family of luchadores. As she explores this new side of her heritage, she learns a lot about her family, both good and bad, and a lot about herself. 

I read this one in honor of Hispanic Heritage month.  It won the Pura Belpre Award last year.  It was interesting learning about luchadores, a sport I never really followed before, and the story is well written, but, in the end, it was just like so many other coming of age stories I have read.  How often have we seen the story line that a kid is in some kind of crisis, and against their parent's wishes, learns both the glorious moments and dark secrets of their family's past.  I feel like Maisy Chen's Last Chance fits this description, as does Ariana del Mar Jumps In and Front Desk.  It is a good, important, and relevant trope, reflecting some of the difficulties many kids face.  But...Yeah. (368, 2022)

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