Wish Upon a Stray

July 1, 2021
A 12-year-old girl struggles after a move across continents. Mar�a Emilia, who goes by the pet name Mimilia, is a Miami-born Argentine girl who is excited about finishing seventh grade and singing a solo in her school choir at graduation. But her plans to celebrate before entering Argentine high school in eighth grade are derailed when her mother gets a job teaching Latin American history at a college in Utah. Leaving her hometown of Mendoza with her parents and two younger brothers also means leaving her grandma Lela behind--and her aging cat, Estrellita. As a parting gift, Lela gives Mimilia a binder full of letters from her great-grandmother Nonna Celestina, written after she emigrated from Italy to Argentina at age 12. But even with this sage epistolary guidance, Mimilia is having a hard time finding her voice in her new home. She feels like a foreigner in the country where she was born and grapples with new foods, feeling self-conscious about her accent, making new friends, and having to repeat seventh grade. Her only consolation is a stray dog who shows up, reminding her of her beloved cat--and who ultimately helps make Utah feel more like home. M�ndez presents an entertaining and endearing tale of resilience in the face of change and loss as well as the opportunities that can come when challenges are met. A sweet tale of dealing with estrangement and finding belonging. (Fiction. 8-12)

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