3 stars
There are things that this book does well and things that aren’t quite a hit.
This is the first book by Telgemeier that I’ve read and I’ve been meaning to check out her work. On the whole, I enjoyed the story and the various themes touched upon. The artwork was lovely with wonderful detail and colors. Very fun to get lost in the art.
I also really liked that it features a character with cystic fibrosis and nicely works in some details about what it is and how it’s treated in a way that is understandable to young readers. There is also a section in the back that expands on some of this.
The book also incorporates some very relatable aspects of life such as the bond between sisters, moving to a new place, and having to make new friends.
I was also excited to see that this story was focused on a Mexican-American family that starts getting back in touch with their Mexican heritage. This was an interesting storyline and opportunity for children to see parts of their culture represented in a positive way within a book and to expose readers to some aspects of Mexican culture.
However, I feel this aspect was a bit of a miss. The details of Dia de los Muertos were very vague. There were some odd bits that seem to undermine the spirit of the celebration such as Cat dressing up as Catrina in sugar skull makeup for Halloween. Telgemeier also includes a picture of herself at the end in similar makeup without much context, leading many to voice concerns about cultural appropriation. While it’s great to have stories about Dia de los Muertos and Mexican culture, it can be difficult for authors outside of the culture to really understand and appreciate it. Telgemeier also depends upon Spanish missions in the book, ignoring the roles they played in history, presenting them instead as a fun setting for some of the ghost scenes to take place.
While there were many aspects of this that I enjoyed, there were others that just felt like another white person writing about another culture without having a firm gasp on it. I appreciate Telgemeier’s attempt at creating diverse characters but in some ways I think she misses in this one.
Overall, I enjoyed the book as a whole, but there are some potential teaching moments to expand upon for a deeper understanding of Mexican culture.