I Wanna Be Your Shoebox

Starred review from July 28, 2008
One features a nice girl, the other a bad girl, but they both make music.
I Wanna Be Your Shoebox
Cristina García
. Simon & Schuster
, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-1-4169-3928-3

García's (Dreaming in Cuban
) exceptional ability to channel a range of voices lights up her first children's novel, about an eighth-grader in Southern California. Yumi Ruíz-Hirsch comes from a colorful family—her long-divorced mom is Cuban, “with a little Guatemalan thrown in,” and a reasonably successful novelist; her dad, a struggling songwriter, is the oldest member of a punk-rock band—and Yumi adores her grandparents, Saul (Jewish, from Brooklyn) and Hiroko (from Japan). Suddenly loss is imminent for Yumi: 92-year-old Saul is diagnosed with cancer; her school is planning to cut the orchestra, and Yumi plays the clarinet; and then her mother decides to marry and move with her to Napa. The large personalities propel the story and bring tenderness and credibility to a classic message about change. Perhaps the most memorable is Saul, whose interspersed monologues about his life fortify García's structure. (“So where does Uncle Sam send me after nearly killing me in boot camp? The Pacific Theater. Made it sound like I was heading into some action movie with John Wayne. But I ended up in Alaska”). A memorable work. Ages 8–12.

October 1, 2008
Gr 6-8-Yumi Ruíz-Hirsch attends a Southern California middle school. She likes to surf; she's a musician, and she's the daughter of a truly contemporary, international family (her mother is Cuban and her father has a Japanese mother and a Jewish dad). Yumi loves her divorced parents, even though she isn't thrilled with the idea of her mom's approaching marriage, and her punk-rocker father isn't all that successful. Additionally, the bright and sensitive eighth grader is learning to cope with the impending loss of her grandfather, who is dying from cancer. She wants to learn everything she can about him while she still has him. Interspersed throughout the book are Saul's stories of his life, which reveal not only his colorful past, but also provide insight into his relationships and resilience. Yumi gleans self-awareness from her grandfather's stories, and their lessons punctuate her reflections. In all, this is a fast, funny, and surprisingly plausible book with likable, slightly off-beat characters who interact and relate genuinely, often movingly."Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library"

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