Brownstone
Written by Samuel Teer
Illustrated by Mar Julia
Published by Versify
Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.
Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.
As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.
But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.
Primary ISBN: 9780358394754
Publication Date: June 2024
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Age 14 or older
Community Represented: Guatemalan/Guatemalan American
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Accolades & Awards: Youth Media Awards, Coming of Age, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Discrimination: Language Ability, Discrimination: Racial, Event: MCSTOYA Connects: Migration Reads, Family Relationship: Parents, Format: Graphic Novel, Generation: 1st, Identity: Multiracial, LGBTQIA+, Multilingual: Spanish Featured Words, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Welcoming by Community, Welcoming by Individual
Setting: United States
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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