¡Ay, Mija! My bilingual summer in Mexico

In this graphic memoir, Suggs recounts their solo trip to Mexico to visit their mother's family. Being half Mexican has been difficult for Christine, who feels neither Mexican enough nor white enough. They hope that their summer trip to Mexico will help them improve their Spanish and connect with their heritage. At first, Christine finds it difficult to be themself around their family, struggling to have full conversations with their grandparents and aunt. As time goes on, though, their Spanish improves, and they find a connection to the traditions and stories of their family's past. Suggs delves into a topic that many teens in multicultural families go through: feeling like an outcast and being unsure of where they belong. Lovely orange and blue tones depict Christine's internal thoughts and struggles, superbly chronicling their inner growth, often touching on the topic of their gender identity and body issues. A warm and honest coming-of-age story about self-love and self-discovery.

Sugg's debut, a warm and good-humored semi-autobiographical graphic novel, follows rising high school junior Suggs, who is Mexican and white, preparing to spend the summer in Mexico City with their maternal grandparents and tía. The creator inserts themself as the narrator, portrayed in miniature alongside their teenage self as they recount their first time traveling from Texas to Mexico without their bilingual mother, who usually acts as the teen's unofficial translator but is arriving two weeks later due to work. While Suggs's lack of confidence in their biracial identity, fatness, and Spanish-speaking skills makes them dread their trip, they eventually open up to new experiences. In Mexico, Suggs learns more about the country's history pre- and post-colonization, and gains a deeper understanding of their mother's life before she immigrated to the U.S. Joyful moments, such as Abuela digging up a cactus during a hike to take home, lend specificity and counterbalance wrenching moments of pathos, as when the protagonist's fear of ridicule over their body prompts them to cover up during a sweltering heat wave. Via a limited blue and orange color palette that mimics Mexican Talavera pottery traditions, Suggs tackles themes of sexuality, cultural identity, and body image with understanding and heart. Ages 12--up. Agent: Melissa Edwards, Stonesong Literary. (Apr.)

Gr 10 Uep--In this autobiographical graphic novel, teenager Chrístine travels from Texas to Mexico City after finishing 10th grade to spend the summer at the home of their maternal grandparents. The grandparents and aunt are loving and welcoming, but Chrístine does not speak Spanish well and struggles to connect with their Mexican heritage. This journey will help empower Christine to improve their Spanish while exploring and articulating how it feels to be a queer, fat, and white Mexican teen. Despite Chrístine's self-consciousness, they start capturing their experiences through drawing and soon appreciate the delicious Mexican cuisine and the historical buildings attesting to Mexico's rich history pre- and post-colonization. The text, mainly in English, is interspersed with paragraphs in Spanish driven by Suggs's Spanish-speaking family. The expressive illustrations, set mainly in shades of blue and brown, convey the plot with one artistic element providing a humorous tone and highlighting the main character's disposition: a mini-Christine character that reacts to the plot and acts as their conscience. Although Chrístine's intersectionality is always present, the main character openly discusses it halfway through the story to refer to the profound Roman Catholic background of their grandparents and Chrístine's fear of coming out to them. Chrístine's navigation of their identity will resonate with teens who feel insecure and find belonging difficult. VERDICT An accessible graphic novel for high schoolers seeking a character they can relate to and a safe space to read about mixed heritage and identity.--Kathia Ibacache

This engaging graphic memoir depicts Suggs's formative experiences visiting family members in Mexico City and their rancho in the state of Queretaro. At home in Texas, Cris, who has a Mexican mother and a white American father, is assumed by others to be white and non-Latine. But with Mexican family, Cris (who now uses they/them pronouns) perceives being othered because of their limited Spanish and a skin tone that is lighter than that of relatives. During the trip, Cris develops a more mature understanding of their culture, their family traditions, and their mom's sacrifices. The narrative poignantly highlights the journey of self-discovery that so many young people experience -- often in silence -- growing up in the U.S. as the children of mixed families. Suggs's reflections are multilayered, addressing an awareness of their blended culture, concerns about weight, and processing of their emergent queer identity. The narrative is mostly in English, with untranslated Spanish interspersed; the book might be most fully appreciated by readers with basic English and Spanish reading abilities, but the graphic format helps with accessibility. Illustrations in a limited, muted palette richly portray the sights, sounds, and scents of Cris's Mexico, along with the warmth they feel for immediate and extended family. An epilogue with photos explains this narrative's source as "a combination of events from two solo trips to Mexico." (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A teen's life-changing trip to see relatives in Mexico is explored in this graphic novel inspired by the author's own life. The summer before junior year offers a chance for Christine to immerse themself in their Mexican family's culture, but as a light-skinned, biracial kid from Texas with a White American father and Mexican immigrant mother who does not speak Spanish fluently, it is also intimidating. Christine gets to visit their maternal grandparents for the summer and explore both Mexico City and the family rancho in Querétaro. Christine grapples with multiple facets of their identity, from how to embrace the Mexican side of their mixed heritage to their weight, body image, and sexuality, but their summer in Mexico gives them the chance to explore all of these subjects. Though their lack of mastery of Spanish is isolating in the beginning, they slowly become more comfortable with the language and with themself. The illustrations effectively and attractively use a limited palette, mostly shades of blue and orange, and Christine's internal monologue is depicted as a small orange avatar. This is a fun and fast read, and while the story is light, the coming-of-age self-exploration Christine undertakes adds nuance and depth, grounding the story in enduring themes. An epilogue includes charming photos from the Suggs' middle and high school visits to relatives. A sweet and memorable story of growth and self-discovery. (Graphic fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.