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Under the Mesquite

By Guadalupe Garcia McCall

9781600604294


As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead—and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script.

In the midst of juggling life as a high school student, testing her wings as an actress, and dealing with friends who don’t always understand, Lupita desperately wants to support Mami in whatever way she can. While her father stays with Mami at an out-of-town clinic, Lupita takes charge of her siblings. As Lupita struggles to keep the family afloat, she escapes the chaos of home by writing in the shade of a mesquite tree. Overwhelmed by change and loss, she takes refuge in the healing power of words.

Told with honest emotion in evocative free verse, Lupita’s journey is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about the testing of family bonds, the strength of a young woman navigating pain and hardship with surprising resilience, and the kind of love that cannot be uprooted.


Booktalk with author Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Discussion Questions

Poetry Podcasts by the Author:
A Mesquite in the Rose Garden (0:52)
Making Tortillas (2:00)
Swimming the Rio Grande (2:17)
Uprooted (1:48)

Guadalupe's Photo Album: Meet the "real" Lupita

Buy Under the Mesquite e-book for:
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble NOOK
Google ebookstore

Awards
ALA Notable Children's Book
American Library Association (ALA)

Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
YALSA

Best of the Best Books
Chicago Public Library

Notable Books for a Global Society
International Reading Association

"Choices"
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

More awards...
Interest Level
Grades 6 and up
Reading Level
Grades 4 and up
Themes
Dreams & Aspirations, Education, Family Traditions, Home, Immigration, Latino/Hispanic/Mexican Interest, Mothers, Overcoming Obstacles, Poetry, Responsibility, Self Esteem/Identity, Sharing & Giving, Siblings, YA interest
About the Creators

Guadalupe Garcia McCall was born in Mexico and moved to Texas as a young girl, keeping close ties with family on both sides of the border. Trained in Theater Arts and English, she now teaches English/Language Arts at a junior high school. Her poems for adults have appeared in more than twenty literary journals. Under the Mesquite was inspired by the difficult experiences her own family went through during her teen years. This is her first book. McCall lives with her husband and their three sons in the San Antonio, Texas, area. You can find her on the Web at guadalupegarciamccall.com.

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