Under the Mesquite

Lupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit Mexican American immigrant family, comes of age as she struggles with adult responsibilities during her mother's long illness.

As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead-and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script.

In the midst of juggling life as a high school student, testing her wings as an actress, and dealing with friends who don't always understand, Lupita desperately wants to support Mami in whatever way she can. While her father stays with Mami at an out-of-town clinic, Lupita takes charge of her siblings. As Lupita struggles to keep the family afloat, she escapes the chaos of home by writing in the shade of a mesquite tree. Overwhelmed by change and loss, she takes refuge in the healing power of words.

Told with honest emotion in evocative free verse, Lupita's journey is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about the testing of family bonds, the strength of a young woman navigating pain and hardship with surprising resilience, and the kind of love that cannot be uprooted.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Published: 04/01/2013
ISBN: 9781600604294
Pages: 144
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.63h x 5.79w x 0.92d
Award: Americas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature - Honorable Mention
Award: Keystone to Reading Book Award - Nominee
Award: Texas Lone Star Reading List - Commended
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Land of Enchantment Book Award - Nominee
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Pura Belpre Award - Winner
Award: William C. Morris YA Debut Award - Finalist

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2011
Voice of Youth Advocates 10/01/2011 pg. 388 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Booklist 10/01/2011 pg. 90
School Library Journal 10/01/2011 pg. 142
Kirkus Best Young-Adult Books 12/01/2011 pg. 2223
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2012
School Library Journal 01/01/2013 pg. 54
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2012 pg. 105 - Recommended, Satisfactory

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 106917 / Under the Mesquite
Reading Level: 5.7 / Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus / Point Value: 3