Publishers Weekly
★ 03/01/2021
Newbery Medalist Medina artfully chronicles another year of highs and lows in the life of Cuban American middle schooler Merci Suárez via this winning sequel to Merci Suárez Changes Gears. Now a seventh grader, 12-year-old Merci has taken on more responsibilities at home and at school, including caring for her beloved grandfather, Lolo, as his Alzheimer’s advances, and managing the school store with her classmate, “human calculator” Wilson Bellevue, a quiet Cajun and Creole boy who wears a foot brace. But when Miss McDaniels drafts the entrepreneurial Merci to sell tickets for the Heart Ball—and cooperate with her former nemesis, Edna Santos—Merci must learn to step outside her comfort zone and onto the dance floor. Medina continues to build on the stellar character work of the first book, balancing laugh-out-loud one-liners (“Buy a Heart Ball ticket if you have absolutely nothing better to do in this sad life”) with vulnerability (“People... vanish, sometimes a little at a time. One day Lolo won’t know how to move his legs. One day soon, he won’t be able to dance”). This is a sequel of the finest quality, perfectly capturing the feelings of awkward first crushes (“Did he say I look nice? Or did he say I look like a rodent? I can’t decide”) and evolving friendships. Ages 9–12. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
…Frankie Corzo manages to deliver a believable portrayal of a working-class Latina middle schooler who feels out of place in her predominantly wealthy, white private school. Corzo's remarkable range takes listeners on an emotional roller coaster ride as Merci Suárez navigates her first crush while challenging racist bullies, grappling with economic inequality, and confronting significant changes in family dynamics, specifically her brother's departure for college, her beloved aunt's new relationship, and her grandpa's battle with Alzheimer's. Don't miss this!”—AudioFile Magazine
“Narrator Frankie Corzo returns to narrate the sequel to Meg Medina’s 2018 Newbery Medal–winning novel, Merci Suárez Changes Gears. … With an even pace and light tone, Corzo makes Merci’s struggles with friendships, responsibility, school, crushes, and jealousy easily relatable to all listeners. While Merci has a neutral American accent, Corzo seamlessly transitions between English and Spanish words, perfectly delineating the Spanish accents of Merci’s family and creating a realistic portrayal of a young Cuban American’s life.”—Booklist
“Merci returns for another year of challenges and triumphs at home and at Seaward Pines Academy...Merci’s maturity and growth are as engaging and compelling as they were in the author’s Newbery Medal winner, Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2018). The cast is broadly diverse; Merci and her family are Cuban American, Edna is Dominican, and Creole and Cajun Wilson has a physical disability. An uplifting sequel told with heart and humor.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“In this sequel to the Newbery-winning Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2018), 12-year-old Merci takes on growing responsibilities both within her family and as a seventh-grader...Filled with the familiar, laugh-out-loud humor from the first title, this sequel will quickly pull readers, both returning and new, into Merci’s world... Fans of Merci will root for her as they are immersed in her vibrant world full of unique characters and heartfelt surprises.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Newbery Medalist Medina artfully chronicles another year of highs and lows in the life of Cuban American middle schooler Merci Suárez via this winning sequel to Merci Suárez Changes Gears. . . Medina continues to build on the stellar character work of the first book, balancing laugh-out-loud one-liners (“Buy a Heart Ball ticket if you have absolutely nothing better to do in this sad life”) with vulnerability. . . This is a sequel of the finest quality, perfectly capturing the feelings of awkward first crushes (“Did he say I look nice? Or did he say I look like a rodent? I can’t decide”) and evolving friendships.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Funny, heartwarming”—Horn Book (starred review)
“A joyous celebration of family and friendship.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Meg Medina is the author I studied, and still study, to learn how to write for children. Her ear is impeccable; the way she captures not only dialogue but also communicates adolescent feelings without being condescending nor pitching extra soft softballs. Few people get the balance of writing about and for teens right.”—Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author
“Now in seventh grade, Merci Suárez finds that a new school year means new responsibilities and challenges. . .The struggles with friendships, responsibility, school, crushes, and jealousy that Merci and her friends face will strike a chord with many readers. . .The plot moves along at a consistent and page-turning pace, and as usual Medina’s characters are excellently written and developed. Medina also touches on racism and how shared cultural heritage can bring people together unexpectedly. . . Fans of Merci Suárez Changes Gears will love watching how Merci and those around her grow. This sequel doesn’t disappoint and is an essential purchase for all collections.”—School Library Journal
“Merci continues to be a vivid and dimensional character, strong-minded and capable but also believably twelve (her mother asks the inevitable question “What’s wrong with you these days?”) and credibly nervous about moving out of her comfort zone. . . . The book is dedicated to “Merci fans who wanted to know what happened next,” and hopefully there are more volumes of “next” to come for sparky Merci.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“In Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, life for Merci hasn’t changed much on the outside, but inside things are astir. . . . This novel, like the first, makes a point of modeling a strong and loving family life for readers ages 9-13. People in the Suárez households work hard, help one another and defer gratification.”—The Wall Street Journal
“This is a heartwarming book about a beautiful family and a young girl trying to make sense of middle grade.”—Book Riot
School Library Journal
03/01/2021
Gr 4–7—Now in seventh grade, Merci Suárez finds that a new school year means new responsibilities and challenges. Merci has been enlisted to work in the school store alongside her classmate Wilson, who she might have a crush on, and is still at odds with classmate Edna, who is planning the Heart Ball and maybe stealing one of Merci's best friends. At home, Merci feels unprepared for the changes in her family: Her grandfather's Alzheimer's is worsening, and Tía Inez has started dating. At heart, Merci remains true to the character readers met in Merci Suárez Changes Gears and has grown alongside her readership. However, seventh grade Merci is not without her flaws. She and Edna still don't get along, and she spies on Tía Inez even when she isn't supposed to. When Merci is roped into running a photography booth at the Heart Ball and the equipment breaks, she tries to solve the problem herself instead of telling an adult. The struggles with friendships, responsibility, school, crushes, and jealousy that Merci and her friends face will strike a chord with many readers. A subplot about Tía Inez keeping dance classes alive for neighborhood kids who have nowhere to go after school serves as a subtle reminder of Merci's Cuban American heritage and the socioeconomic status of families in Merci's neighborhood versus at school. The plot moves along at a consistent and page-turning pace, and as usual Medina's characters are excellently written and developed. Medina also touches on racism and how shared cultural heritage can bring people together unexpectedly. VERDICT Fans of Merci Suárez Changes Gears will love watching how Merci and those around her grow. This sequel doesn't disappoint and is an essential purchase for all collections.—Liz Anderson, DC P.L.
MAY 2021 - AudioFile
Given its target audience and its perennial themes of changing bodies, preteen lit can be a challenging genre. It can be an even more challenging genre to narrate because tweens can smell a phony from miles away. But Frankie Corzo manages to deliver a believable portrayal of a working-class Latina middle schooler who feels out of place in her predominantly wealthy, white private school. Corzo’s remarkable range takes listeners on an emotional roller coaster ride as Merci Suárez navigates her first crush while challenging racist bullies, grappling with economic inequality, and confronting significant changes in family dynamics, specifically her brother’s departure for college, her beloved aunt’s new relationship, and her grandpa’s battle with Alzheimer’s. Don’t miss this! G.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-01-12
Merci returns for another year of challenges and triumphs at home and at Seaward Pines Academy.
Life is a little different for Merci Suárez in seventh grade. Her older brother, Roli, is off at college; her grandfather Lolo’s Alzheimer’s is more pronounced; and she has to regularly babysit her Tía Inés’ spirited young twins. Merci is also assigned to manage the school store with math whiz Wilson Bellevue, a quiet classmate who she realizes is not obnoxious like other boys. When Merci and Wilson are expected to sell tickets to the Valentine’s Day Heart Ball, she must interact with a slightly-less-mean Edna Santos, who’s running the dance and unexpectedly getting closer to Hannah, one of Merci’s best friends. Medina continues to tenderly explore issues such as multigenerational immigrant family dynamics, managing the responsibilities of home and school, and learning how to navigate changing friendships and first crushes. Merci’s maturity and growth are as engaging and compelling as they were in the author’s Newbery Medal winner, Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2018). The cast is broadly diverse; Merci and her family are Cuban American, Edna is Dominican, and Creole and Cajun Wilson has a physical disability.
An uplifting sequel told with heart and humor. (Fiction. 9-13)