Quijana is one half Guatamalan, one half American. Her parents never taught her Spanish at home to help her become more "American" at school. Still, artwork from Guatemala and her father's beloved guitar dominate the household. At school, Qui finds her part of a trio of friends with Zuri and Jayden. Her relationship with Jayden is fragmented, too: one half crush, one half buddy. The family is also struggling to figure out why her younger brother won't speak. When Guatemalan cousins move in to town, Qui is embarrassed by her minimal Spanish and then panics when her dad proposes a winter holiday trip to visit his mother in Guatemala. Convinced she will shame her parents with her poor Spanish, Qui begins selling things to raise money to buy a bus ticket to "run away" to visit her other grandmother in Florida to avoid the trip to Guatemala. Then her Florida grandmother becomes sick from cancer treatment. How will Qui fit all of these pieces together, both the sad and the happy?
The Other Half of Happy is available from Hoopla as well as Overdrive.
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