Member Review

This book ended up being about so much more than I anticipated. When I picked it up for my arc sharing group, I didn't know much about it, but I loved the cover. Gabrielle ives in Haiti when the book begins and she is spunky 10-year-old who likes fun, adventure, and loves her family and best friend. When her parents tell her that they are moving to America, she is pretty excited until she finds out that they can't come with her right away and that she will be living with her uncle and his family in Brooklyn. Once she arrives, Gabrielle discovers how hard it is to be new and look and speak differently from others. Her experience in her new school felt like a very authentic depiction of what it could be like to immigrate to a new country where you do not speak the language spoken by your teachers or other students and you feel out of place no matter what you do. Because of her experiences, Gabrielle is convinced that all she wants and needs it to be completely "American," so when she meets a witch who promises to make that happen, Gabrielle is tempted.

This book touches on so many different themes--it has friendship, family, what is means to be American, difficult choices choosing to be who you are or who others think you should be, AND magic. I am so excited that this book is one of the Sora Sweet Read titles because I hope to have my middle schoolers have a book club this summer. I highly recommend that all elementary and middle school libraries add this title to their collections!