Author: Pam Munoz Ryan has written over forty books for young people, including picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She was born in California and is half Mexican. She has won multiple awards like the Pura Belpre, Newberry, and the New York Historical Society. Genre:Fiction Country:United States of America Language:English Publisher:The Scholastic Press Themes:Family ties, Mexican culture, disability, identity, grandparents.
Plot Naomi Soledad Outlaw is a Mexican-American girl that lives a humble life in Lemon Tree, California with Gram, her great-grandmother, and Owen, his brother who has a physical disability. She is shy, enjoys reading books at the library, making lists, and carving soaps. Her life suddenly changes when her mother Skyla, who Naomi does not see since she was four-years-old, comes to visit them. First, they thought it was positive that their mother was finally going to be present in their life. However, they discover that what she wants is to take Naomi with her and Cyle, her boyfriend, so that she can collect money from the government. Skyla does not want to take Owen because of his disability. In the beginning, they were enjoying her company, but as Skyla settled into their lives, she became mean. When Gram finds out that Skyla wants to take Naomi, she makes a plan with the neighbors to take the kids to Oaxaca, Mexico to find their father. They expect him to sign a letter to grant custody to Gram. Since the kids live in a trailer, they take their entire house with them. Although the purpose of the trip was to find their father, Naomi and Owen connect very deeply with their Mexican heritage by learning Spanish and participating in different traditions like Posadas and the Night of the Radishes. Fortunately, they have an emotional reunion with their father, Santiago. When they go back to California, they go to the judge to decide who will have the custody of the kids. Naomi is brave enough to tell the judge everything that Skyla is planning, and that does not want to live with her mother. After hearing Naomi, the judge decides to give custody to Gram. The kids go back to their normal life, and although nothing has changed, Naomi feels different. She now feels connected in some way to her Mexican side and both her parents.
Characters: Naomi: Naomi Soledad León Outlaw is eleven years old, has dark skin, eyes, and hair. She enjoys carving things from soap and likes making lists. At the beginning of the book she was shy and didn't have many friends, but then she becomes courageous and more outgoing.
Owen: Owen is Naomi's little brother. He has brown eyes, blond hair, and fair skin. He likes having tape across his shirt since it makes him feel secure. He looked and sounded different than the other kids: one of his legs was shorter than the other, his head was tilted to the side, and his voice sounded shaky. People usually think he is not smart because of his physical disability. However, he is the best student in his class.
Gram: Naomi's great grandmother who raised Naomi and Owen since their mother left them. She was kind, loving and responsible. She liked watching the wheel of fortune with Fabiola, the neighbor, and working as a seamstress.
Skila: Skyla is Naomi and Owen's mother, but did not see them since they were four and one years old. She disappeared for seven years and changed her name from Terry Lynn to Skyla. She lives with Clive in Las Vegas and has a drinking problem.
Santiago: Naomi and Owen's Mexican father who divorced their mother many years ago. Physically, Naomi looks like him. Every year he participates in the Noche de Los Rábanos, a tradition that has been Leon's family for 100 years. Santiago lives in Puerto Escondido, and for a living, he sells his carvings and gives boat rides to tourists. He once tried to establish a relationship with his kids, but Gram didn't let him.
Fabiola: Fabiola is a neighbor who also lives in Avocado Grove. She is Gram's closest friend, and they met each other while working at a department store. She goes every afternoon to watch The Wheel of Fortune. She is Mexican and speaks Spanish and English.
Bernardo: Fabiola's husband. He is Mexican, carves wood and radishes and takes care of Avocado Grove. He lives in a small house near Gram's trailer.
Clive: Skyla's boyfriend who encouraged her to change her name. He has a daughter called sapphire that now lives with them. He wears a ponytail in his long black hair. He asks Gram questions about her finances. Naomi and Owen do not like him.
Blanca Paloma: Naomi's new friend in school. Her parents are Mexican, but she has never been there. She speaks Spanish and English. She is outgoing and tries to advise Naomi on how to handle the situation with her mother.
Positive aspects of the book:
Identity: The book shows Naomi and Owen’s process of discovering their identity and getting to know their roots to accept their heritage. They go from confusion and embarrassment to embrace their biculturalism.
Stereotypes and assumptions: The book shows the importance of having diverse literature and presenting the voice of minority groups to eradicate stereotypes. In the book, Naomi describes some "Regular and Everyday Worries about Mexico," which are mostly news that she heard about murders, dangers of drinking water, horrible sicknesses, people peeing everywhere, and bad smells. However, once she got to know the people and traditions, she realized how wrong she was. The book also talks about how people usually think that Owen is not smart because of his physical disability.
Different family dynamics: Naomi and Owen live with their grandmother, and bot parents are not present in their lives. Books that present different family dynamics allow students to identify with the characters
Goes across class: Naomi lives in a trailer with Owen and Gram, which is positive because low-income families are never included in children’s books. The book breaks stereotypes about class since it shows that people can live happy lives regardless of where they live.
It shows systems of oppression: Immigrants usually live in a system where is hard to prosper. Pam Muñoz Ryan exemplifies this in the book by describing Fabiola and Bernardo dependent on the land owner of Avocado Grove, the area where they park their trailers.
It addresses issues of intolerance and prejudices towards people with disability: For Gram and Naomi, Owen’s disability was not a reason to treat him differently. However, Skila did not accept him and did not want anything to do with him because of it. Also, in the book, they describe how people usually assume that Owen is not smart because of having difficulty walking and talking.
Aspects of the book that I did not like:
Skila is so mean that the character becomes hard to believe. She abandoned her kids, did not like Owen because of his disability, hit Naomi, wanted to tear the family apart, is an alcoholic. The author tried too hard to make the reader dislike her.
The author included so many social issues that most were just portrayed superficially.