Balcárcel, Rebecca. Shine On, Luz Véliz!. Fiction. Chronicle, 05/2022. 332pp. $17.99. 978-1-7972-0967-8. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES 4-6.
Luz divides her life into before and after. She used to be a soccer star, tightly bonded to her dad who coached her team. Post injury, Luz puts her trophies in the garbage and warms the bench. Her dad seems barely able to look at her. But when a massive surprise from her dad’s home country of Guatemala arrives on their doorstep, Luz and her family must rebuild their life. A retired tech-savvy neighbor, a chance encounter with robotics, and three bilingual classmates she’s overlooked, all offer clues to a new version of Luz. Luz’s struggle feels real and messy, as she adapts to not being a star and her presumptions get in her way. Strong family support and a wise neighbor help her shift focus and build a new identity based on both challenge and acceptance. The only confusing element is a tragic story of deportation that isn’t thoroughly integrated into the story and feels like it exists only to motivate the main characters.
Melissa McAvoy, Retired
