I Wanna Be Your Shoebox

Cristina García

Aga 2008 · Penguin Random House Audio · Kuchazwe ngu-Zinnia Su

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Because Yumi Ruíz-Hirsch has grandparents from Japan, Cuba, and Brooklyn, her mother calls her a poster child for the twenty-first century. Yumi would laugh if only her life wasn’t getting as complicated as her heritage. All of a sudden she’s starting eighth grade with a girl who collects tinfoil and a boy who dresses like a squid. Her mom's found a new boyfriend, and her punk-rock father still can't sell a song. She's losing her house; she’s losing her school orchestra. And worst of all she's losing her grandfather Saul.

Yumi wishes everything could stay the same. But as she listens to Saul tell his story, she learns that nobody ever asks you if you're ready for life to happen. It just happens. The choice is either to sit and watch or to join the dance.

National Book Award finalist Cristina García’s first middle-grade novel celebrates the chaotic, crazy, and completely amazing patchwork that makes up our lives.

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Cristina GarcÍa was born in Havana, Cuba, and grew up in New York City. She's written several novels, including the National Book Award finalist Dreaming in Cuban and A Handbook to Luck. Her work frequently explores the nature of identity and the sometimes absurd places it takes us. She published her first picture book, The Dog Who Loved the Moon, in spring 2008. She lives in California with her daughter, Pilar, and a hundred-pound puppy named Rio.