Merci Suárez Can’t Dance
by Meg Medina
Intermediate, Middle School    Candlewick    384 pp.    g
4/21    978-0-7636-9050-2    $17.99

Merci navigates the troubles of home and seventh grade — and the gap between the two — with her irresistible combination of spirit and heart in this follow-up to the Newbery-winning Merci Suárez Changes Gears (rev. 9/18). Though she seems more self-assured these days, Merci resents the many changes taking place around her: her brother Roli away at college, Lolo’s deteriorating condition, ­Hannah’s growing friendship with Merci’s archenemy, and the growing confusion surrounding new friend Wilson. At the annual “Heart Ball” school dance, Merci only wants to participate from the place she has the most confidence and control — behind the camera — but even that goes awry. Vibrant and insightful, the novel explores the complexities of friendship and family as well as first romance. All the while, Merci stays busy getting herself into trouble and finding her way out of it again. Her relationships at school strengthen, to mirror the bonds she has with her family at home, and when school and home lives merge, Merci discovers the best way to manage change is with a bit of bravery, a welcoming attitude, and people you trust. And by the end of this funny, heartwarming book, Merci does dance — with family and friends, on an intimidating stage at her exclusive private school in the first performance of the new Suárez School of Latin Dance.

From the May/June 2021 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.