A great solid middle grade story with lots for every kind of reader. I loved her exploration of Merci’s family dynamics without sacrificing friendship or school stories in the process. I would recommend this book to most realistic fiction fans.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I love stories that have diverse characters, especially diverse female characters that inspire young women empowerment. In Merci Suarez Changes Gears, sixth grade Merci handles friends, changes, and growing up with an air of confidence and will. This is a wonderful novel for all middle grade children to read.

Middle school. A time of growing pains, annoying boys, mean girls, and embarrassing family! Merci, along with her parents and older brother (with whom she shares a room), lives in close proximity to her grandparents, her aunt, and her twin cousins. Family connection is very important to the Suarez clan and everyone helps one another out. Merci babysits her her twin cousins and she also helps her dad and grandfather with the family painting business.

Merci has been assigned a "buddy" at the start of the school year. Kids get paired up with new students to help make them feel welcome and show them the ropes. The only problem is that Merci is assigned a BOY. How does one reach out to a boy without people thinking you like him? Or making other girls jealous who may have a crush on him. Nothing is going to be easy this year!

As if school is not crazy enough, Merci has been worrying about her grandfather Lolo. He gets confused and has been having a lot of accidents (some that Merci is keeping a secret from her parents). And she doesn't know why popular Edna has all of a sudden started ignoring her and then being downright mean.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a great middle school read. I love the model of a strong family. Merci's life is not perfect by any means but she learns that she can count on them to help her through all the changing gears of life.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Merci Suarez Changes Gears from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

There is something about middle school books and mean girls that just go together. And this book is no exception. But Merci is more than just another protagonist, fighting the good fight against the mean girls of the world. She is also a Cuban-American, who is living with her extended family in Florida, with her beloved grandparents, aunt, and twin cousins.

I love how tight she is with her family, that she cares about them. That she wants to do right by them, despite not liking watching the twins all the time. She is proud of her grandmother who can sew anything, and often does. She loves her father's painting company, and is not ashamed of him for doing manual labor, while all her classmates' parents are doctors and lawyers and business executives.

Merci is a down to earth girl, and you feel her problems and she is very real.

And although there are Spanish words sprinkled throughout, they are always used in context, so you can usually figure out what she is talking about.

And excellent read, and a good for inclusion, for children to see themselves in Merci.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Merci has always been able to count on her Lolo when she needed to talk about anything. But now, things are changing at home and at school and he seems different, too. Since sixth grade started, Merci doesn't understand the other kids at school and now that Lolo is behaving strangely and her whole family seems to be keeping secrets from her, she has no one to talk to about it. What is happening with Lolo and can Merci maneuver through all of the middle school drama without him?

Sixth grade Cuban-American Mercedes “Merci” Suárez lives in South Florida with her family in Las Casitas: three houses, side by side, where Merci lives with her brother, Roli, and their parents; her Abuela and Lolo; and her Tía Inéz and her crazy twin 5-year olds, Axel and Tomás. She and Roli also attend an exclusive private school, Seaward Pines. In order to help pay their tuition, Merci has to take part in Sunshine Buddies, a community service program that matches her with a new student from Minnesota, Michael Clark. Merci has a pretty full plate with Sunshine Buddies, practicing for the soccer tryouts at school, and tolerating the school's resident mean girl, Edna Santos, but things get even more complicated when her grandfather, Lolo, starts acting differently. He forgets his glasses in the refrigerator; he falls off his bike, and he tries to pick up the wrong twins at school one day. Merci finds herself with mounting family responsibilities and pushes back against the frustration of school and home life, but she and her family will work together, like they always do, to get through life's challenges.

Meg Medina creates the most memorable, likable characters, from Piddy Sanchez (Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass) to Mía and Abuela (Mango, Abuela and Me). She creates an atmosphere that immediately feels comfortable and tactile; reading her books feels like home for me. The peppered Spanglish throughout the narrative; the mouth-watering descriptions of food, the chaotic, crazy family life all fit like a comfortable sofa that I sink into to read my books. She creates strong Latinx girls and women who run businesses and raise families, who have straight talk with their families and friends, even when those conversations are painful, and they know the strength that family provides. Every character in Merci's story feels real because these characters are real: they're the kids next to you in school, or who live down the block. Meg Medina uses humor and authentic voices to create a story about a tween girl who has insecurities, worries, and frustrations; she's also funny, smart, and creative, with a whip-smart wit. Merci Suárez Changes Gears is a story about growing up and about how much it hurts to see your grandparents aging. Put this in every kid's hand, because it's that good. This one's on my Newbery 2018 short list.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears has starred reviews from Kirkus, Horn Book, and Booklist. Meg Medina has an author site where you can learn more about her books and read her blog, and make sure to check out the Girls of Summer website; a project co-designed by Meg Medina and author Gigi Amateau. Girls of Summer reviews 18 titles for strong girls (picture book, middle grade and YA) every year, in early June; there are also giveaways and weekly Q & As with selected authors. The blog is active from June until Labor Day every year, but you can still check out the content (from 2011-present) no matter what time of the year!

Merci Suarez Changes Gears is one of my new favorite middle grade books. It has everything I think is important for all ages: an interesting story, characters you feel deeply about, and issues that affect us all.

Having lived in Miami, Florida for almost forty years, I loved being involved in Merci’s Latin family. The family life, food, and culture was woven seamlessly into the story, it’s almost like I was part of her family.

This story covers many important issues while keeping the wonderful culture. A few are issues a lot of kids face such as finding their place among their peers, dealing with bullies, and being that in-between age of wanting to be part kid and part grown up. These issues are tough for all middle schoolers, but Merci deals with them with a great deal of thought and compassion.

All the while dealing with problems at home. Merci’s grandfather has Alzheimer’s Disease. As an adult, I recognized the signs immediately, but this book was written so incredibly through the eyes of Merci. As each event occurs, a fall, confusion, forgetfulness, we see it not as an adult, but as a child who doesn’t understand what these changes mean. This voice, this point of view, touched me so deeply because as adults, we forget how innocent kids are.

For this view alone, I recommend this book to everyone, kids and adults.

I read Merci Saurez Changes Gears by Meg Medina with an awareness of her writing commitment to the idea of both windows and mirrors for all children to see someone like themselves in books and to strengthen understanding for readers who come from a different world. She did this beautifully in her Ezra Jack Keats Award book Tia Isa Wants a Car and in her young adult books that I have read. In this new book which makes its debut September 11, the windows and mirrors seem to shapeshift as sixth-grader Merci lives wrapped both in her own family traditions and in the commonalities of middle school.

Differences show up early with Merci and her brother Roli as scholarship students at the private academy in Florida, doing community service to make up for their free tuition among students with families who have big houses and fancy boats and take vacations to exotic places. Spanish terms and words liberally season the text with enough context that the window reader who speaks only English can figure them out. One of my favorite scenes was Merci’s consternation at the idea of a boy/girl party with invitations for people of the same age, a party partly noted by who was left out, compared to her own birthday party noted for including both males and females from the “tiniest screaming cousin who lives in Tampa to Abuela’s sister, Concha, who is almost ninety.”

As for those likenesses (mirrors), any middle schooler who has ever navigated the power play of the popular set leader will relate to many of Merci’s school challenges. Any reader who has ever had a beloved grandparent lose their mental or physical power before their eyes will grieve with Merci over her grandfather LoLo who has been her longtime pal and confidante and maybe wonder as Merci does about the time when she may have to “boss Mami and Papi as Tia is doing to Abuela.” Then there’s the common problem of children who sense something worth worrying about even while the adults in their lives are trying to shield them.

The host of secondary characters are well drawn and add color to the story. I was particularly amused by Hannah’s helicopter mom who embarrassed her by wanting to know the people she was with whether it was a group party or working on a school project at the Saurez house.

Meg’s mirrors and windows sparkle as though they’ve just been cleaned inside and out. Readers who are looking at themselves in the mirror or looking out the window at someone who lives life a little differently or speaks another language or two, will love Merci and her story and maybe wonder if a sequel would tell what happens next.

Great middle school read! Merci and her brother are scholarship kids doing community service in order to help pay for their tuition. At home, things are intense as Merci notices changes in her grandpa - he is just not the same as he used to be! she hears the whispers from family members all around her but nobody will share what is going on. While she is dealing with her home issues, she has to deal with the most popular girls at school. Through all of her struggles, she stays true to who she is as she navigates these challenges. Kids will fall in love with Merci and this story!!

Because they are scholarship students, Merci and her older brother, Roli, are “different” from the other kids at their private school. Since they don’t have fancy cars or houses like the other students, they have to help to pay for their scholarships through community service. Merci is assigned to be the Sunshine Buddy for a new student, Michael. This upsets the most popular girl in her class, Edna, who has a crush on Michael and makes Merci her target.

Merci’s home life hasn’t been going so smoothly either. Her grandpa and number one confidant hasn’t been acting like himself. He’s forgetful and clumsy, and doesn’t ask Merci about her school life like he used to. Even worse is all the whispering and upset tempers at home. Merci’s family has always had a no secrets policy, but no one will tell her what’s going on. With all these worries at home and school, Merci feel more alone than she’s ever felt in her life.

Meg Medina’s beautiful coming-of-age story with deeply drawn characters is filled with Cuban-American culture and a glimpse at multigenerational home life. Merci’s close-knit and close-in-proximity family is complex and gloriously chaotic. The spotlight shines on her grandfather, Lolo, since he is dealing with significant issues related to the onset of Alzheimers. We see Lolo’s decline throughout the story along with the concern and significant stress on the family as everyone tries to adapt. Merci deeply loves her family, and her relationship with her grandfather is particularly close and sweet. Her honest insight in dealing with her problems is both funny and heartbreaking, but most importantly, even with the dramatic and scary changes in her school and home life, she remains true to herself.

Merci makes plenty of mistakes and is so honest and relatable you can’t help but root for her from page one in this deeply moving and engrossing story. In Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Meg Medina introduces us to a luminous Cuban-American girl, Merci Suárez, who will forever be in our hearts and reminds us of the deep meaning in small moments and gestures.


Merci Suárez Changes Gears gets my highest recommendation. It releases on September 11th and if you preorder from a local bookstore, Candlewick has a preorder campaign that includes a author hand-crafted bookmark, a sticker, and a bike bell.

You can also request Merci Suarez Changes Gears from your local library. Either way, just make sure you read it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of Merci Suarez Changes Gears in return for an honest review.

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>
#Merci Suarez #Net Galley Candle Wick Publishing Children's fiction Middle Grade
Release date September 11, 2018 368 pages

I was lucky enough to be selected to read this book before it is released. I enjoyed this book greatly. I gave it 4 stars.
This book is about a Latino family who live in Florida. The family consist of a grandma, grandpa, aunt, twin cousins, mom, dad, older brother and the main character Merci. They really aren't poor but nor are they rich. probably low middle class. Both of the older children go to a private school by way of scholarship. The dad owns his own business as a painter and to pay the children's books during the summer they painted the gym. They wear a uniform to this school. Merci isn't as smart as her older brother who loves science. She has lazy eye and has gone the process of wearing a patch and having surgery. Her eye still has some issues at times. The students are required to do community service at this school. Most students only have to do 40 hours but Merci and her brother have to do 60 hours because of their scholarship. She isn't thrilled about her community service which is being a Sunshine Buddy. She ends up being a buddy to a boy which is unusually for a girl to be buddy with a boy. All the other children tease her when she tries to make contact in school. This new boy Michael Clark is a very cute boy and all the girls talk about him.
This book is about Merci and the things she goes through not only at school but also at home. She hates have to help out with her twin cousins because now she isn't able to go to soccer try outs which she really wants to do because she has to her Grandma watch the twins. Her Grandpa whom she adores is sick and she does find out but is the last to know and gets upset with her family for not telling her sooner. She is scared and mad at the same time.
This is a great book for a middle grader to read because it will explain about the disease her grandpa has in a very understanding way. It will give them understanding on how you can work through some hard times.
It is hard to go into detail because I don't want to give anything away about this story. I read most of it in one setting.
The author did a great job.

I loved Merci Suarez! Meg Medina captures this transitional (middle grade) age so well - we were just playing with the boys last year, why are they suddenly at their own table and girls are...flirting with them, I guess?!? What gives! Medina tackles a lot of big issues here without overwhelming the reader - Merci’s family isn’t as well-off financially as some of the other kids at her private school, where she and her brother attend on scholarship. Her family is bigger than the typical American family and includes her Aunt and twin nephews and her grandparents; they all live together in a series of small casitas next to each other.

The biggest central piece that the book revolves around is Lolo - Merci’s grandpa and number one best pal. But, Lolo has been acting differently lately - forgetting things, calling people by the wrong name, even getting angry about things that don’t seem like a big deal to Merci - and Medina handles the confusion about this situation so well. The feeling like the grown-ups are keeping Big Things from you as a kid (but I’m in middle school now!) - these feelings are so universal, but this story is definitely ground well in the particulars of Merci’s life.

One of best drawn relationships of the book for me though was that between Merci and Edna, her kinda sorta frenemy. She is the head girl of Merci’s girl friend posse, and evvvvveryone follows her lead, much to Merci’s eternal confusion. The way Edna acts is so typical mean girl - we all knew some version of this girl - and yet Medina does such a good job of not making her a caricature.

Merci is a great character; she just felt so real and true. I highly recommend this to all middle grade readers (and adults too)!

What a wonderful read! I really love books that look at intergenerational topics, and this book goes a step further by having three different households living in community side by side. Merci notices changes in her Lolo and his behavior, but no one will tell her what's going on. When it becomes clear that the issue cannot be ignored, the whole family must come together to deal with the inevitable changes that will impact each one of them. Meanwhile, Merci is dealing with school, and the challenges that come along with sixth grade and finding her place in a school where she doesn't really fit in.

I love the Cuban-American focus of this book, the family, culture and language that makes Merci's family different from many others you find in middle grade fiction. I definitely suggest adding this book to libraries, classroom, and home collections.

Readers will fall in love with Merci- a spirited, spunky 6th grader living in Florida. This title will absolutely be joining my classroom library this year.

“I don’t know what is going to happen next year, no one does. But maybe that’s OK. I can handle it, I decide. It’s just a harder gear, and I am ready. All I have to do is take a deep breath and ride.”

This was one of the best middle grade books I’ve read in a long while, and Merci Suarez will forever have my heart. This smart, funny, precocious, loving, engaging eleven-year-old is one of the most endearing protagonists I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. I just loved her!

Merci and her older brother Roli attend an upscale private school on scholarship in Florida, and Merci feels like she will never fit in. Instead of a big fancy house like the ones her classmates live in, Merci’s extended family all live next to each other in small, matching pink houses. And sometimes on the weekends, Merci will help her dad and grandfather on their painting jobs. Lately Merci’s life has been even more topsy-turvy than usual. Being a sixth grader is way different that being a fifth grader; her friends are more interested in boys than in playing soccer at recess and generally think Merci is an oddball. To top it off, Merci’s grandfather, to whom she is very attached, is acting strangely - becoming more forgetful, and lashing out at his family for no reason. When Merci finds out her beloved Lolo has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she feels her heart break into a thousand irreparable pieces and she know her life won’t ever be the same.

This was a truly extraordinary coming-of-age story. Medina painted such a real and identifiable portrait of a family that’s imperfect but so full of love. I shed big, fat, ugly tears as Merci came to understand her grandfather’s diagnosis. But I also had plenty of chances to laugh along with Merci as she navigates the changes in her life. Though she knows lots of heartbreak, she also knows so much love and laughter, and while her life won’t ever be the same, she has the inner strength and outer support she needs to get through it.

Middle grade writers are amazing. I love that I am seeing more about grandparents and aging in books now. Centered around this book is family and how family is what you make of it and all our families look different. Merci lives with 3 houses with her parents and brother; aging grandparents and aunt and twin cousins. Her grandfather is becoming forgetful. Merci goes to a private school on scholarship. At the heart of this book is family. It is a beautiful story.

*I received this book as an ARC but all thoughts and opinions are my own*

Comes out September 10th!

This was a good book. Of course, it's from my self proclaimed favorite contemporary genre: MG; Latine-kid-has-life-changes-something-happens-with-grownup-they-rely-on.

My favorite thing was that racism wasn’t the setting of this book. Of course, those experiences are important and real, and should be written about but I think it’s just as important to write stories where that is not the setting-where the characters are dealing with other things, too.

It wasn’t that it was totally ignored or not mentioned but it wasn’t the center of the book. Being Latine was normal.

Another thing I liked was that when the school staff noticed the bullying Merci was undergoing they actually did something about it. Exactly because that’s so unrealistic it’s important to write (and for teachers’ to read).

Something that other people have mentioned is the uncomfortable feeling of being poor when everybody around you is rich and the inability at times to communicate across that line that was written well in the book.

The only thing I didn't like was that it was supposed to be Merci's second year in the school but it felt like she had been in the school a much shorter time-half a year at most.

Definitely go get get this book. Especially if you know kids who are in the age range for it.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a very satisfying read. The characters are colorful and fully developed. Meg Medina's portrayal of life for 6th grader, Merci, is spot on. The situations, both at school and at home, and Merci's reaction to them all ring true. I loved the opportunity to be part of a multigenerational family. This book would make a great selection for a literature group or a classroom read aloud in upper elementary or middle school. It should spark lively discussions.

Merci attends a private school by doing "community service." Her friend is jealous of her assignment since Merci is assigned to help the friend's "crush." At the same time, Merci's grandfather Lolo, to whom she is quite close, is declining rapidly due to Alzheimer's Disease, and Merci doesn't really understand what is going on due to the family's decision to keep her in the dark. It's a coming-of-age tale which may appeal to middle school readers at the moment but probably lacks an enduring quality. Additional editing would shorten and make the story stronger. The author includes some common Spanish words in the story which are not translated for the reader. I suspect many middle school readers, particularly in Southern and Southwestern States with many Mexican and Central American immigrants, will not need a Spanish dictionary nearby, but I anticipate it might create problems for those with little exposure to the Spanish language. The book probably works best for middle schoolers with family members suffering from dementia. I received an advance e-galley in exchange for an honest review through the publisher via NetGalley.