Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey -- Book Review

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review and Harper Collins Publishers to participate in this blog tour. I was sent a copy of this book and will receive a small compensation for my review. All opinions are my own.

Yesterday we kicked off our celebration of Asian-American Heritage Month. Today's book features a young Filipino-American girl so it is perfect for this month. The book is Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly. Today is the release day of this book!! The book is recommended for ages 7 to 12 but I think the sweet spot is for 6 to 9. This is definitely an emerging reader novel thanks to the pictures throughout and larger print size. 

From the Publisher: 

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey Written by Erin Entrada Kelly
Ages 7-12 | 160 Pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books | ISBN-13: 978-0062970428
Publisher’s Synopsis: 

Introducing eight-year-old Marisol Rainey—an irresistible new character from Newbery Medalist and New York Times–bestselling Erin Entrada Kelly!

Marisol Rainey’s mother was born in the Philippines. Marisol’s father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard she calls Peppina . . . but she’s way too scared to climb it. This all makes Marisol the only girl in her small Louisiana town with a mother who was born elsewhere and a father who lives elsewhere (most of the time)—the only girl who’s fearful of adventure and fun.

Will Marisol be able to salvage her summer and have fun with Jada, her best friend? Maybe. Will Marisol figure out how to get annoying Evie Smythe to leave her alone? Maybe. Will Marisol ever get to spend enough real time with her father? Maybe. Will Marisol find the courage to climb Peppina? Maybe.

Told in short chapters with illustrations by the author on nearly every page, Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey is a must-have for early elementary grade readers. Erin Entrada Kelly celebrates the small but mighty Marisol, the joys of friendship, and the triumph of overcoming your fears in this stunning new novel for readers of Kevin Henkes, Meg Medina, Andrew Clements, Sara Pennypacker, and Kate DiCamillo.

From Me:

Marisol is a unique and fun character. She names everything from the couch to the tree in her backyard. She has many fears like so many children. She has a best friend who understands her and accepts her--fears and all. She also has the always present frenemy. I love that the book is about a normal girl who just wants to be like everyone else. Her fears are present but she wants to overcome some of them. She really wants to climb the tree but she keeps seeing herself falling from it. The book is really about conquering that fear. 

I also love that Marisol's Filipino roots are woven into the story in natural places. Her mother is from the Philippines and there are times where Marisol thinks about going there and more. I also love that her family including her big brother seem pretty supportive of her, but there is still the sibling bickering. This book is perfect for the younger readers. Marisol is 8. I would say it is for 6- to 9-year-olds. The book is really just a few days in a girl's everyday life. She struggles with her fears, her family, her classmates and more, but she also has fun and faces some of her fears. I think many younger readers will really enjoy it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times–bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly was awarded the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space. She grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She is a professor of children’s literature in the graduate fiction and publishing programs at Rosemont College, where she earned her MFA, and is on the faculty at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, a Spring 2018 Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; and Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, which she also illustrated. The author’s mother was the first in her family to immigrate to the United States from the Philippines, and she now lives in Cebu.

Enter for a chance to win a hardcover copy of Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey!

Ten (10) winners receive:

• A hardcover copy of Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

The giveaway begins April 26, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends May 26, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

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