One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos.Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a...
One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos.Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a...
Due to publisher restrictions, your digital library cannot purchase additional copies of this title. We apologize if there is a long holds list. You may want to see if other editions of this title are available from your digital library instead.
Due to publisher restrictions, your digital library cannot purchase additional copies of this title. We apologize if there is a long holds list. You may want to see if other editions of this title are available from your digital library instead.
Description-
One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos. Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father—who walked out of their lives ten years ago—is somewhere on the island. So begins Marcus's incredible journey, a series of misadventures that take him all over Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn't know if he'll ever find his father, but what he ultimately discovers changes his life. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.
Most kids clear out of the way when I walk down the hall. They’re like campers in a forest who spot a grizzly and scramble up a tree to hide. (Or, in this case, climb into a locker.) I’ve been called the Mastodon of Montgomery Middle, the Springfield Skyscraper, the Moving Mountain, the Terrible Tower, the . . . You get the idea. These names bothered me in sixth grade when I was excited to start middle school and make friends. But now, in eighth grade, my size has become a profit center. And business is booming. Take these two kids sitting down in the back corner of the library (my office), fidgeting like I’m going to eat them or something. One has practically chewed off his fingernails, and the other one’s leg won’t stop bouncing. I hear them whispering. “What?” I say. “Is it true?” the kid asks. “That you carried forty two chairs to the auditorium? By yourself?” I stare. “Yes.” Actually it was only eight chairs, but these are the kinds of rumors that are good for business. “Incredible.” They start whispering to each other again. “We’re wondering if we could procure your walking services, Mr. Marcus?” “Don’t call me that.” At the start of the school year, a bunch of sixth graders confused me for a teacher while they were trying to find the auditorium. I told them they’d better figure out where they needed to go or I was going to collect a tax from them for getting in the way. They ran. Soon a rumor started spreading that I was really an undercover assistant principal hired to keep kids in line. It’s kind of ridiculous, but things at Montgomery often are. The rumors about me have gone from fantastical (Godzilla with a crew cut) to realistic (assistant principal). It’s really annoying. But like I said, I’ve found a way to make it work for me. These two kids are here for my walking service, the crown jewel of my business. “Five bucks a week to walk each of you to school,” I say. “And five bucks to get you home. Your total invoice is ten per week.” “Each of us?” The kid seems surprised. “I could walk you halfway for half the price.” They look at each other a moment. “That’s my blue-plate special,” I say. “No, we’ll take the whole service. Thank you.” “Where do you live?” “I live on Maple and Vine,” one kid says. The other kid chimes in with, “I’m on Vine and North Cherry Hill Drive.” I already walk four other kids who live in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, so two more isn’t a big deal. I can’t charge them more than ten bucks, or parents will start to wonder. The way I see it, it’s a win-win for everyone. I’m making some money, and these kids are getting protection from bullying on their walks to and from school. I’m doing a service. People pay for bodyguards all the time. That’s what I am to these kids—a big, bad bodyguard. “Hey,” I tell them before they run off to class. “There’s a deposit. Five bucks each.” I always take a deposit for my services. It’s like insurance money. They both pull out fives and hand them to me. Then they quickly get out of my office. Most of my business transactions happen in the small cubicle located behind a shelf at the far end of the library. The school librarian lets me hang there whenever I want. I usually take a stack of books to read while I...
About the Author-
PABLO CARTAYA currently serves as lead faculty at Sierra Nevada College's low residency MFA program for Writing for Children and Young Adults. He writes stories that reflect his family, culture, and love of words. Pablo lives in Miami with his wife and two kids. Learn more about Pablo at pablocartaya.com.
Reviews-
July 9, 2018 In Springfield, Pa., Marcus, a six-foot tall, 180-pound, mustache-sporting 14-year-old, exploits his appearance to run a bullying protection business, secretly contributing his earnings to his single mom’s cash jar. When a conniving school bully calls Marcus’s brother, Charlie, who has Down syndrome, the “R” word, Marcus gets suspended for punching him. In an effort to “spend time together as a team,” Marcus’s mother takes the boys to visit their absent father’s relatives in vibrant pre-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico. Cartaya (The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora) poignantly sketches Marcus’s desire to meet his father (“How do you start an email to a father you haven’t seen in ten years?”), and clues about his dad’s mercurial, irresponsible character build to a devastating realization. The loneliness of the family’s Pennsylvania life contrasts starkly with the community they find in Puerto Rico; the events spark for Marcus a new understanding of his overworked mother and appreciation for his family and heritage, offering hope for deeper connections going forward. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media.
Author Pablo Cartaya's warm narration introduces us to 14-year-old Marcus, who is trying to figure out his place in the world. When his mother takes Marcus and his younger brother, Charlie, to Puerto Rico for a vacation, it's a chance to meet his extended family and, as Marcus sees it, an opportunity to reconnect with his absent father. As Marcus travels around the island experiencing the landscape, food, and people, Cartaya seamlessly transitions between English and Spanish and endears all of the characters to listeners. Cartaya uses a slower, more deliberate delivery for Charlie, who has Down syndrome, and this sets his dialogue apart in a way that print readers would not experience. An author's note acknowledges that the beautiful Puerto Rico depicted is before the devastation of Hurricane Maria. J.M.D. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
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Author Pablo Cartaya's warm narration introduces us to 14-year-old Marcus, who is trying to figure out his place in the world. When his mother takes Marcus and his younger brother, Charlie, to Puerto Rico for a vacation, it's a chance to meet his extended family and, as Marcus sees it, an opportunity to reconnect with his absent father. As Marcus travels around the island experiencing the landscape, food, and people, Cartaya seamlessly transitions between English and Spanish and endears all of the characters to listeners. Cartaya uses a slower, more deliberate delivery for Charlie, who has Down syndrome, and this sets his dialogue apart in a way that print readers would not experience. An author's note acknowledges that the beautiful Puerto Rico depicted is before the devastation of Hurricane Maria. J.M.D. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
