Merci Suárez Changes Gears
By: Meg Medina / Narrated By: Frankie Corzo
Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
A truly likable heroine who has a lot of curveballs thrown at her
One of the things I liked best about this, Merci Suárez Changes Gears, is that our heroine, Merci, is such a strongly written character. This follows her through one school year, 6th grade, in a prestigious school where she’s getting free tuition cuz her dad does work around the place. This status leaves her kinda sorta on the outs as far as fitting in goes, and with our antagonist Edna being a well-off girl who says mean things and treats Merci dismissively, we get a bit of “Mean Girls” to go along with what-all else is going on in Merci’s life. This does NOT mean that Merci is cowed or crippled by fears—Nope, this heroine has a lot of spunk.
She does have her doubts, and she does blush a lot, but I enjoyed that she said a lot of the right things, and she didn’t make a lot of stupid choices. This indeed could’ve been written with her starting waaaay low on the character-arc, her being easily flustered and stumbling in her interactions only to grow into a strong person, but nah, she comes from a strong family, she is a strong person. So Huzzah for a strong role model for young girls, esPECially from cultures that are “Other”.
Merci’s family is originally from Cuba, and they’ve kept their culture going even as they’ve embraced all this new country has to offer (Mom worked and studied to get a decent job; Mom reeeeally pushes education for her kids, knowing it to be a ticket to a better life). We’re treated to some Spanish dialogue (Which another reviewer haaaated); we’re treated to different ways of celebrating Thanksgiving. Here, family is what is important, and Merci lives next to her aunt with her terribly rambunctious twins, and next to her grandparents, so close to her grandfather Lolo—her friend and confidante.
There are struggles at school, but more importantly are the changes that are occurring at home: Lolo just isn’t himself, and adults are having whispered conversations, keeping secrets. Merci has to deal with her dread of Lolo acting weird or getting violent even as she must bring schoolmates home to work on projects. She’s already on the outs; how will Lolo’s odd behavior be taken? Plus, she just plain ol’ misses her dearest friend, the grandfather she could unburden herself to, that man she used to bicycle to their favorite panaderia with, nibbling cookies with, giggling and talking to.
There are some good issues in this book, and Merci’s discovery of what’s going on with Lolo, how she discovers WHY she hadn’t been let in on the family’s secret, had me with a most DEFinite lump in my throat as she tries to really, really feel what true loss is. Then too her Christmas gift to Lolo had that big ol’ lump firmly in place also.
The whole thing could’ve been better, however, cuz Frankie Corzo didn’t give the performance of her life here. She narrates things in somewhat flat tones, and even tho’ I do indeed applaud that she fluently delivered accents, I coulda done with a heckuva a lot more emotion being added, especially for Merci. She captured Merci’s grit and stamina well, but her confusion and ultimate despair could’ve been waaaay more hard-hitting. Oh well.
Nice story of a culture loved, a family embraced, a huge world out there that may or may not understand. Merci’s journey to acceptance ends on a high, albeit bittersweet, note.
And I ALWAYS grab and hold tightly a good bittersweet ending…!
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