Marisol and Magdalena: The Sound of Our Sisterhood

Veronica Chambers is the author of the sequel to Marisol and Magdalena, Quincea"era Means Sweet Fifteen.

Gr. 6^-9. Their mothers grew up together in Panama, but longtime best friends Marisol and Magdalena, both 13, were born and still live in Brooklyn and know very little Spanish. Their relatives and others in the expatriate Panamanian community in Brooklyn are constantly trying to make the two girls understand and appreciate their heritage. But the girls plan to "rule Roberto Clemente Junior High" when they enter eighth grade in the fall; then Marisol's single, working mother, who also attends nursing school, decides to send Marisol to Panama to spend a year with her grandmother. An apprehensive Marisol prepares for the trip, unhappy as she sees Magdalena pulling away from her but consoled by the thought that she might find the father she's never known. In Panama, Marisol is immediately comfortable with her grandmother, makes a new friend in Ana, is welcomed at her new school, and finds her first boyfriend in Rube n, who tutors her in Spanish. As Marisol's shyness fades, she begins to feel, in some ways, more comfortable in Panama than in New York, even adjusting to the fact that her father may never surface in her life. Marisol's vibrant first-person narrative flows smoothly, incorporating Spanish words and phrases in a way that non-Spanish speakers can easily comprehend, and conveying a well-realized sense of the Latino-black experience. YAs of any background will readily be able to identify with Marisol and the test placed on her friendship with Magdalena. Sally Estes