Frank Carlson Library

Two Mexican American brothers hope that junior college will help them escape their heritage of tedious physical labor.

Fourteen-year-old Mexican American Lincoln Mendoza spends a summer with a host family in Japan, encountering new experiences and making new friends.

After unexpectedly falling in love with a "nerdy" boy, fourteen-year-old Marisa works to change her life by transferring to another school, altering some of her behavior, and losing weight.

Everyone is coming for Christmas dinner at Maria's house. She and her mother prepare by kneading the "masa" to make tamales. When her mother takes off her ring, Maria tries it on - and is beside herself, when hours later, she thinks it has been kneaded into the tamales. How many can you eat?

Meet Marisol Luna, a girl who was born to dance. The family is moving to the Chicago suburbs, and Marisol learns that her new neighborhood doesn't have a dance studio. Instead of giving up, resourceful Marisol is determined to keep dancing. With the help of two friends, she figures out a way to combine her old world with a renewed commitment to stretch and try her hardest.

Maya, the flower girl, describes a Mexican American wedding through snapshots of the day's events, beginning with the procession to the altar and ending with her sleeping after the dance.

Few writers capture the everyday moments of life like Gary Soto. In direct and vivid poems, he draws from his own youth in California's Central Valley to portray the joys and sorrows of young people. His writing focuses on Latino characters, yet speaks to readers of all ethnicities.--From publisher description.