I've been so blessed with verse novels. It wasn't a format that I ever thought I would like -- but then I read Virginia Euwer Wolff and Sonya Sones, and I was drawn in. This book, winner of the Pura Belpre Writing Medal and a Morris Honor for 2012, echoes my favorite verse novel writer, Karen Hesse. Like good haiku, the economy of language portrays a richness that can never be found in prose. In this story, spanning both years and nations, we see the coming-of-age of Lupita, a young girl who revels in her Mexican heritage but is American in her dreams of independence. The oldest of eight, she struggles through high school as her mother's cancer decimates a warm, loving woman who is also her best friend. The roses in their Texas garden symbolize her mother's beauty, but the stubborn mesquite that towers over the flowers show Lupita's determination to hold life together despite overwhelming odds. Words flow across pages like the "mighty Rio Grande" with such strength and color that you can't help but turn the page and see what happens next, even as you ache to soak up the stunning images portrayed by these seemingly simple phrases. It is a book to be fully savored -- find time to read it without interruption (difficult in my life). It is also a book you could read and re-read, finding new insights each time. Brava, Ms. McCall.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
"Under the Mesquite" by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
I've been so blessed with verse novels. It wasn't a format that I ever thought I would like -- but then I read Virginia Euwer Wolff and Sonya Sones, and I was drawn in. This book, winner of the Pura Belpre Writing Medal and a Morris Honor for 2012, echoes my favorite verse novel writer, Karen Hesse. Like good haiku, the economy of language portrays a richness that can never be found in prose. In this story, spanning both years and nations, we see the coming-of-age of Lupita, a young girl who revels in her Mexican heritage but is American in her dreams of independence. The oldest of eight, she struggles through high school as her mother's cancer decimates a warm, loving woman who is also her best friend. The roses in their Texas garden symbolize her mother's beauty, but the stubborn mesquite that towers over the flowers show Lupita's determination to hold life together despite overwhelming odds. Words flow across pages like the "mighty Rio Grande" with such strength and color that you can't help but turn the page and see what happens next, even as you ache to soak up the stunning images portrayed by these seemingly simple phrases. It is a book to be fully savored -- find time to read it without interruption (difficult in my life). It is also a book you could read and re-read, finding new insights each time. Brava, Ms. McCall.
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