Merci Suarez is having trouble fitting in at her private school. Edna Santos keeps picking on her and as a reluctant member of the Sunshine Buddies she has to help a new boy settle in to the school. She's also feeling out of control at home, where her grandfather has started acting strangely. In this engaging and real story of family and friends, Merci navigates change and challenges with determination and heart.

Merci is growing up and leaving elementary school behind. Her first semester in 6th grade brings joys and triumphs, but also mistakes at school and troubles at home. When we grow up, we begin to learn more of the bad things about the world around us. We also have to learn to get along with others in our classrooms and in our homes despite circumstances that make it difficult. In this book we watch Merci stumble and pick herself up time after time. She is learning to deal with the changes and difficulties we find in our daily lives and middle grade readers will learn much from reading her story.
My older brain struggled a bit with the Spanish phrases throughout (I studied German back in the day), but I would guess that most elementary kids are exposed to more Spanish than I was at their age and will sail right through.