Merci Suárez Can't Dance

Written by Meg Medina

Part of the Merci Suárez series

Merci faces seventh grade's trials of friendship, family, and love, while struggling to find her rhythm.

4.3/5 Goodreads · 689 ratings

384 pages

$18.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Merci Suárez navigates the chaos of seventh grade, balancing school store duties with Wilson, clashing with Edna over the Heart Ball, and grappling with her grandfather's illness. As love and dance challenge her, Merci must find her footing in a world that feels increasingly uncertain. Can she trust herself to embrace the changes and discover her own rhythm amidst the chaos?

From the publisher

A Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of 2021In Meg Medina’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love–and finding your rhythm. Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science she’s got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her brother, Roli. She’s been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might actually like. And she’s tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball. One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can’t dance–not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can’t seem to avoid love or dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer’s getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love’s many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.

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