Merci Suárez Plays It Cool

"Medina finishes the heartwarming story arc of her . . . young protagonist with the same well-crafted dialogue, humor, and cultural exploration readers expect. A fabulous finale." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

For Merci Suárez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It's a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always traveling to fun places and buying new clothes. But then Avery starts talking to Merci more, and not just as a teammate. Does this mean they're friends? Merci wants to play it cool, but with Edna always in her business, it's only a matter of time before Merci has to decide where her loyalty stands. Whether Merci is facing school drama or changing family dynamics, readers will empathize as she discovers who she can count on--and what can change in an instant--in Meg Medina's heartfelt conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Medal-winning novel.

Author: Meg Medina
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 09/19/2023
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781536233001
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.8
Point Value: 10
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 515674 / Merci Suarez Plays It Cool

About the Author
Meg Medina is a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and the author of the Newbery Medal winner and Kirkus Prize finalist Merci Suárez Changes Gears, as well as its sequels, Merci Suárez Can't Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. She is the author of the young adult novels Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award, short-listed for the Kirkus Prize, and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, winner of a Pura Belpré Author Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind, a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year. Her picture books include No More Señora Mimí, illustrated by Brittney Cicchese; Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was both a Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Meg Medina lives in Richmond, Virginia.