by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia
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Content: There is smoking by teens and two f-bombs. It’s in the Teen Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Almudena has grown up without contact with her dad, knowing very little about him. But the summer before she turns 15, her mother gets an opportunity to join a dance tour, and Almudena is sent to live with the father she doesn’t know. The father who is a Guatemalan immigrant and doesn’t speak much English. The father who is currently living in and renovating a brownstone building into apartments for his heavily Latinx neighborhood. Almudena is resentful at first: she doesn’t know the language, she doesn’t fit in because she has a white mom, and she doesn’t want to do the heavy work of renovating. But, as the summer goes on, she learns. About her heritage, about the neighborhood, and most of all, about her father.

This was an absolutely delightful graphic novel. I like the way both Teer and Julia don’t hide the conflicts between those in the neighborhood who immigrated or are first-generation Americans, and Almudena, who grew up speaking English in a whiter part of the city. I liked the friendships she made in the neighborhood, and the way the neighbors looked out for those who are less fortunate. It’s a very community-minded story, and that came through. I also liked the growing relationship between Almudena and her father: it felt genuine and honest, which I appreciated.

It was just a delight to read.