"A Junior Library Guild selection"--Jacket flap

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna's jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci's grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately -- forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she's left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school.

700L,Lexile

Accelerated Reader,MG,4.6,10.0.

ALSC Notable Children's Book, 2019

Américas Award commended title, 2019

Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers, 2018

CSMCL Best Books, 2018

Horn Book Fanfare List, 2018

Junior Library Guild selection.

Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature, 2018

NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Honor, 2019

New York Public Library Best Books for Kids, 2018

New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Books: Middle Grade, 2018

Newbery Medal, 2019

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2019

Publisher's Weekly Best Middle Grade Book, 2018

School Library Journal's Best Books, 2018

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