Cruzita and the Mariacheros

by Ashley Granillo

Overview

Praise for Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo:

Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor Book

Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can’t go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family’s bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita’s great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery—the family legacy—and now that he’s gone, nothing is the same.

When Cruzita’s not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn’t know how to play her great-grandpa’s violin and she’s not fluent in Spanish. At first, she’s convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there’s more than one way to be a star―and more than one way to carry on a legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765608500
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	11 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ashley Jean Granillo is a Mexican American writer and educator hailing from the San Fernando Valley. She has her BA and MA in Creative Writing from California State University Northridge and holds her MFA in fiction from the University of California Riverside, Palm Desert. She is also a member of Las Musas, a collective of Latinx authors whose gender identity aligns with femininity. Her short story "Besitos" was featured in Where Monsters Lurk & Magic Hides, a Latine/x short story genre anthology. Her debut middle grade novel, Cruzita and the Mariacheros (Lerner Publishing), was a 2025 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor Book.

Editorial Reviews

2024-02-03
When Cruzita’s great-uncle Chuy passes away, the family bakery is put in jeopardy, and Cruzita scrambles to save it in the only way she knows how: through her singing.

Although 12-year-old Cruzita is Mexican American and growing up in the historically Black and brown Los Angeles community of Pacoima, she struggles with her identity. Her peers look down on her as a “no sabo kid” and a “coconut” (brown on the outside, white on the inside). After the death of her beloved Tío Chuy, the family members pull together to save the struggling panadería, Lupe’s Bakery. Though Cruzita dreams of finding pop stardom—and saving the bakery—through the Encore Island theme park singing contest, her family needs her feet to be more firmly planted on the ground: for example, by helping out in the bakery over her summer vacation. Hoping to support her, Cruzita’s abuela signs her up for mariachi classes, but playing the violin and singing in Spanish aren’t Cruzita’s idea of a good time. Still, through the classes, she begins to make friends, and these relationships help her claim her heritage. Holding on to to her dreams of singing stardom while balancing the present-day needs of her family pulls Cruzita in uncomfortable new directions. Many readers will resonate with the demands on her time, and the children and grandchildren of immigrants will likely identify especially strongly with Cruzita’s journey toward connecting with her roots.

A sweet summer quest for identity and belonging. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"Mariachi, family, and pan dulce are the ingredients for this perfect middle grade novel. Highly recommended for all middle grade collections."—starred, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

EJ Lavery’s heartfelt narration captures a landscape of emotions and family dynamics in this coming-of-age novel…Lavery’s performance highlights this audiobook’s rich theme of cultural identity. The listening experience will spark thoughtful discussions about the value of family, the pursuit of dreams, and the complexities of growing up. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

AudioFile

EJ Lavery's heartfelt narration captures a landscape of emotions and family dynamics in this coming-of-age novel. Lavery's firm yet gentle tone captures the tension and love within Cruzita's family as they try to keep alive the legacy of her great-uncle's bakery and Cruzita's dreams of becoming a pop star. Most convincing are Lavery's portrayals of teenager Cruzita's stubbornness, remorse, and joy, as well as her excitement over her career goal and disdain for her cultural ties to tortillas and mariachi music. Lavery's performance highlights this audiobook's rich theme of cultural identity. The listening experience will spark thoughtful discussions about the value of family, the pursuit of dreams, and the complexities of growing up. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2024 - AudioFile