num_pages: 355
description: Thoughtful strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates difficult changes with friends family and everyone in between in a resonant new novel from Meg Medina.Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different but she had no idea just how different. For starters Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida because she and her older brother Roli are scholarship students. They dont have a big house or a fancy boat and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Mercis school-assigned Sunshine Buddy Merci becomes the target of Ednas jealousy. Things aren't going well at home either: Mercis grandfather and most trusted ally Lolo has been acting strangely lately  forgetting important things falling from his bike and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on so shes left to her own worries while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school  and the steadfast connection that defines family.
language: English
title: Merci Suárez Changes Gears
publisher: Candlewick Press