Winner: Guadalupe Garcia McCall for Under the Mesquite (Lee & Low Books)
Review in The Horn Book Guide, spring 2012
Eldest Lupita leads her seven younger siblings through the uncertainty of their mother's cancer. Lupita endeavors to keep her Mexican American family together while attempting to reach her own goals for college and a career. First-person free verse with Spanish carefully sprinkled throughout project this young woman's thoughts, fears, and triumphs with grace and resolve. RSS

 

 

 

Honor: Xavier Garza for Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller (Cinco Puntos)
Not reviewed.

 

 

 

 



Honor: Margarita Engle for Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck (Holt)
Review in The Horn Book Guide, fall 2011
Several first-person narratives converge in this verse novel of the sixteenth century. Two star-crossed lovers of Cuban legend; two historical figures, a pirate and a ruthless conquistador; and a fictional slave give readers spare pieces of one overall story. An introductory list of characters provides information not immediately apparent in their titular poems; the concluding author's note fills in historical background. BC