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  • Lucky Broken Girl

Lucky Broken Girl

Author
Publication Date
April 10, 2018
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  6th − 8th
Language
English
Lucky Broken Girl

Only 5 copies currently available
Description
In 1960s New York, fifth-grader Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant, must rely on books, art, her family, and friends in her multicultural neighborhood when an accident puts her in a body cast.
Publication date
April 10, 2018
Genre
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780399546457
Lexile Measure
670
Publisher
Nancy Paulsen Books
BISAC categories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV015020 - Juvenile Fiction | Health & Daily Living | Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
Library of Congress categories
Immigrants
New York (State)
New York
20th century
Families
Family life
JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / United S
Neighbors
Queens (New York, N.Y.)
Social life and customs
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Emotions &
Fractures
JUVENILE FICTION / Health & Daily Living / Di
Cuban Americans

ALA/Booklist

From facing feelings about the boys who caused her accident, to finding herself in painting and writing, to learning that she isn't 'slow' just because English isn't her first language, Ruthie faces everything with an impressive inner strength. Fans of character-driven middle-grade novels, particularly those looking for diverse books, should be easily charmed by Behar's story, which is inspired by her own childhood as a Cuban immigrant in 1960s New York and her first-hand experience of surviving a car crash and spending a year in a full-body cast (an author's note offers some illuminating details).

Kirkus

Starred Review
A cultural anthropologist and poet, the author based the book on her own childhood experiences, so it's unsurprising that Ruthie's story rings true. The language is lyrical and rich, the intersectionality--ethnicity, religion, class, gender--insightful, and the story remarkably engaging. . . . A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant's struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America.

None

An unflinchingly honest first-person narrative . . . (an appended note provides more context and encourages readers to 'speak up. Tell your story'). Effectively scattered Spanish phrases lend authenticity, while period references evoke the 1960s setting.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Ruthie's English skills have finally gotten her promoted to the "smart" fifth grade class, and she's the "hopscotch queen of Queens" this week. Her family are still struggling with their recent move from Cuba, but she has a strong family network, some new friends, and a pair of brand-new white go-go boots. When a car accident leaves her in a body cast, Ruthie is scared, lonely, angry, and confused. The year that she spends healing in bed is one of growing up, of hard times and good friends, and of new skills and the determination to be herself in her new country. Behar's first middle grade novel, a fictionalized telling of her own childhood experiences in the 1960s, is a sweet and thoughtful read, slowly but strongly paced, and filled with a wealth of detail that makes the characters live. Both poetic and straightforward, this title will appeal to young readers with its respect for their experiences and its warm portrayal of a diverse community. In addition to Ruthie's realistic and personal voice, the novel's strength is in its complex portrayal of the immigrant experience, with overlapping stories of who goes and who comes and the paths they travel. VERDICT Recommended and relatable. Hand this to fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and those who loved The Secret Garden.--Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Set in 1966, this strongly sketched novel, adult author Behar's first for children, focuses on a 10-year-old Cuban immigrant whose injury forces a prolonged convalescence and rehabilitation. The story begins with Ruthie Mizrahi moving up from the "dumb class" (where she learned English) to the "regular fifth grade class" at her school in New York City. However, a car accident leaves Ruthie so severely injured that she spends almost a year sequestered in her room in a body cast ("My bed is my island; my bed is my prison; my bed is my home"). Readers will get a powerful sense of the historical setting through Ruthie's narration, but the novel is perhaps defined even more by her family's status as immigrants and by its memorable multicultural cast. Some dialogue can ring false ("I am a bit of a hippie. I believe in peace, love, and flower power," explains the tutor sent to work with Ruthie), but Behar successfully juggles several engaging plot threads, and Ruthie's complicated relationship with her mother, given the demands of her care, is especially compelling. Ages 10-up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

 Fans of character-driven middle-grade novels, particularly those looking for diverse books, should be easily charmed by Behar's story, which is inspired by her own childhood as a Cuban immigrant in 1960s New York and her first-hand experience of surviving a car crash and spending a year in a full-body cast.

Kirkus

Starred Review
A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant's struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America.

None

An unflinchingly honest first-person narrative . . . (an appended note provides more context and encourages readers to 'speak up. Tell your story'). Effectively scattered Spanish phrases lend authenticity, while period references evoke the 1960s setting.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Ruthie's English skills have finally gotten her promoted to the "smart" fifth grade class, and she's the "hopscotch queen of Queens" this week. Her family are still struggling with their recent move from Cuba, but she has a strong family network, some new friends, and a pair of brand-new white go-go boots. When a car accident leaves her in a body cast, Ruthie is scared, lonely, angry, and confused. The year that she spends healing in bed is one of growing up, of hard times and good friends, and of new skills and the determination to be herself in her new country. Behar's first middle grade novel, a fictionalized telling of her own childhood experiences in the 1960s, is a sweet and thoughtful read, slowly but strongly paced, and filled with a wealth of detail that makes the characters live. Both poetic and straightforward, this title will appeal to young readers with its respect for their experiences and its warm portrayal of a diverse community. In addition to Ruthie's realistic and personal voice, the novel's strength is in its complex portrayal of the immigrant experience, with overlapping stories of who goes and who comes and the paths they travel. VERDICT Recommended and relatable. Hand this to fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and those who loved The Secret Garden.--Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Set in 1966, this strongly sketched novel, adult author Behar's first for children, focuses on a 10-year-old Cuban immigrant whose injury forces a prolonged convalescence and rehabilitation. The story begins with Ruthie Mizrahi moving up from the "dumb class" (where she learned English) to the "regular fifth grade class" at her school in New York City. However, a car accident leaves Ruthie so severely injured that she spends almost a year sequestered in her room in a body cast ("My bed is my island; my bed is my prison; my bed is my home"). Readers will get a powerful sense of the historical setting through Ruthie's narration, but the novel is perhaps defined even more by her family's status as immigrants and by its memorable multicultural cast. Some dialogue can ring false ("I am a bit of a hippie. I believe in peace, love, and flower power," explains the tutor sent to work with Ruthie), but Behar successfully juggles several engaging plot threads, and Ruthie's complicated relationship with her mother, given the demands of her care, is especially compelling. Ages 10-up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Ruth Behar
Ruth Behar (www.ruthbehar.com), an acclaimed author of fiction and nonfiction, received the 2018 Pura Belpré Author Award for Lucky Broken Girl, her first book for young readers. She was born in Havana, Cuba, grew up in New York City, and has also lived in Spain and Mexico. An anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, she is the author of The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart, An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba, and Traveling Heavy: A Memoir in between Journeys, and other books about her travels, as well as a bilingual book of poetry, Everything I Kept/Todo lo que guardé. Her honors include a MacArthur Fellows "Genius" Award, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumna Award from Wesleyan University. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and travels frequently to Miami and Havana.
Pura Belpre Award
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Winner 2018 - 2018