Merci Suárez Can't Dance: Merci Suárez, Book 2
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Meg Medina's Merci Suárez Can't Dance is the sequel to the Newberry Medal-winning Merci Suárez Changes Gears. Merci's now 12, in the seventh grade, and is wondering about things like kissing, holding hands, having a boyfriend, going through puberty, and surviving the pressures of middle school. She also helps care for her grandfather, Lolo, whose dementia is progressing. In one scene, Lolo is found wandering in the yard in the morning, having urinated on himself. Merci takes him inside and helps him change into fresh pajamas, avoiding looking at his body while doing so. Merci experiences racist attitudes and disrespect of her culture at her primarily White private school. Her teachers are mostly White, except for Mr. Ellis, an African American science teacher, who stands up for Merci and other students when a racist incident occurs. Students tease and bully one another verbally, a girl shoves a boy into a locker (after he makes a racist comment). Merci's family and friends are from diverse backgrounds. Merci's family is Cuban American, her friends have Filipino, Dominican Republican, Korean, Cajun, African American, White, and Creole heritages.
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What's the Story?
In MERCI SUÁREZ CAN'T DANCE, Merci is in seventh grade, with all of the peer pressure, confusion, and conflicts that exist at age 12. Merci still has a foot in her childhood-- she loves to ride her bike, and she depends on her grandfather, Lolo, for comfort and advice. She even wonders if it's dumb to pretend when you're 12. But life has other plans for Merci. Her enemy, Edna Santos, is getting closer to Merci's friend, Hannah. Her Tía (aunt) is being courted by a family friend, her brother is in college and moving on with his life, and her dear Lolo is slipping into the fog of dementia.
But Merci is also exploring new things. She's becoming friends with a boy from New Orleans named Wilson. She's taking leadership roles when they're given to her, and she's finding that things can get very complicated when you're not telling the whole truth. Can she handle the pressure of being responsible at home and at school? Merci finds she needs to learn to rely on the people who love her to help her through the challenges that are pushing her to grow up a little bit more.
Is It Any Good?
This delightful sequel to an award-winning book is brimming with family, culture, and adventure and engages fans right away. This time, Merci finds more ways to get into mischief, eventually pulling herself out of trouble with big life lessons in tow. Being in her brother's shadow has been challenging, since Roli is the high-achiever poster boy. But now that he's at university, Merci carries more responsibility at home, and she has to carve out her own reputation in school. In short, Merci has some character-building to do.
The questions that Merci asks in Merci Suárez Can't Dance are big ones, and the answers she finds -- and the lessons she learns -- are satisfying. It's not all about values and morals, though. There's enough pop culture and middle-school drama in this story to keep tweens riveted. Coming of age when there's a lot of pressure is tough, but in Merci's story, the humor is twinkling, the sadness is heart-wrenching, and the joy is exuberant.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what racism feels like in Merci Suárez Can't Dance. Merci talks about it feeling "like getting little papercuts all the time... they don't look like much, but they hurt, especially if you get a lot of them, day after day." Have you experienced racism? What does it feel like to you?
Do you think it's OK that Merci checks her phone in between classes and sends messages while she's in the bathroom? What are the rules at your school?
Merci feels like people are really complicated -- they're not really only good or only bad, they're a mix of both. How do you know when you can trust someone? Who are the trusted people in your life?
Book Details
- Author: Meg Medina
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: STEM, Arts and Dance, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, Middle School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick Press
- Publication date: April 6, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 9 - 12
- Number of pages: 384
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: September 13, 2021
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