Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

March 15, 2021
Grades 2-4 *Starred Review* On the first day of summer, Marisol watches as Jada, her best friend, climbs into the magnolia tree, sits on a branch, and whispers that she's found a bird's nest made of twigs and interwoven with a pink ribbon. Marisol longs to see the nest, too (after all, it's in her backyard), but a strong fear of falling keeps her firmly on the ground. Sometime later, after she admits her anxiety to Jada, she finds that she can pull herself up onto the tree's lowest branch, but will she ever find the courage to climb higher? Kelly's lively, expressive black-and-white illustrations appear throughout the book's 21 short chapters. From the author of the Newbery Award-winning Hello, Universe (2017), this perceptive story focuses on Marisol, an imaginative Filipina American girl who names the magnolia tree (Peppina), her bicycle (Ginny), and the refrigerator (Buster), and she sometimes talks to them as well. Set in Louisiana, the first volume in the Maybe Marisol series is an immediately engaging and ultimately rewarding choice for readers moving up to chapter books.

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Starred review from April 1, 2021

Gr 3-7-"That's the thing about best friends. They don't care about all the things you can't do: " wise words from a timid adolescent girl. Marisol is a young Filipina living in Louisiana, while also residing in her own little world. She notices things that most people would overlook, like the sights and sounds from a refrigerator. With a fascination with silent movies and a habit of assigning names to everything (even inanimate objects), endearing, relatable Marisol is also plagued by anxieties of all sorts. This story contains adorable yet thought-provoking conversations between friends, allowing for readers to feel as though they have been transported into the imagination of the main character. The main antagonist in the story is a bully of sorts, and causes grief for Marisol. Readers will be rooting for the main character, Marisol, throughout the story, as well as her kind best friend Jana. VERDICT This title is a great read for upper elementary children. With occasional, whimsical illustrations, it will keep even the most reluctant readers entertained.-Megan Honeycutt, Univ. of West Georgia, Carrollton

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2021
Marisol spends her summer mulling over climbing a tree. In Marisol Rainey's Louisiana backyard stands a magnolia tree that she has named Peppina. (Believing that "all important things...should have their own names," she's given names to appliances, furniture, and the family car, too.) The tree is perfect for climbing, and everyone loves Peppina. Everyone except Marisol, that is, who is afraid of falling. She has a big imagination, which often causes her to get lost in the what ifs. Marisol spends the summer days with her best friend, Jada, playing and making movies. Jada loves to climb Peppina, and maybe, just maybe, this will be the summer Marisol finds the courage to climb Peppina too. Narrated in third person, present tense, this is a sweet story of a girl trying to overcome her fears and anxieties. Marisol's story also touches on friendship, bullies, siblings, having a parent who lives away from home (her dad works on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico), and having a parent from another country. Her story is an expression of daily life and feelings that many children will find familiar. The short chapters help move the quiet story along, as do the amusing black-and-white illustrations sprinkled throughout. Fans of Ivy + Bean will enjoy Marisol's story. Marisol is biracial, with her Filipina mom's dark hair and eyes; her dad presents White. Jada presents Black. There's no maybe about it; readers will enjoy this charming story. (Fiction. 6-9)

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