Teer, Samuel. Brownstone. Julia Mar, Illus. Versify, 06/2024. 320pp. Graphic. Trade $26.99. 978-0-3583-9475-4.Paper $18.99. 978-0-3583-9474-7. GRADES 6–10. OUTSTANDING.
In the summer of 1995, fourteen-year-old Almudena is used to mothering her dancer mom; what she’s not used to is being dumped for the summer as free labor with a Spanish-speaking dad she’s never met. Masterful and appealing artwork, diverse and subtle coloring, and skillful panel variation distinguish this coming-of-age story as Almudena confronts a new community, an uncertain future, and a problematic past. For a Hispanic-looking, English-speaking child of a white single mother, the dynamic relationships and cultural beliefs of the gentrifying Guatemalan and Mexican neighborhood are a steep learning curve. So too is the construction labor that slowly begins to bond father and daughter. Divided into three long chapters, replete with rich, ancillary characters, and both humor and pain, readers are privileged to watch many examples of two incongruent things pairing to create something new. Review based on an ARC.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired