On These Magic Shores
By Yamile Saied Méndez
Hardcover: $19.95
Ebook
Twelve-year-old Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school--like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by ICE? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.
Minerva's plan falls apart the first afternoon, when her baby sister throws a tantrum during Minerva's audition for Peter Pan. But as the days pass and Minerva grows ever more worried about her mother, something magical seems to be watching out for them: leaving them cupcakes, helping her find money, even steering them to friends and distant family who can help. Eventually, Minerva must make the hardest choice of her life. And when she does, she'll be prepared to face life's challenges--with friendship, hope, and a little bit of fairy magic.
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Reviews & Comments
Anna Meriano, author of the LOVE SUGAR MAGIC seriesCindy Baldwin, author of Where the Watermelon Grows
Rajani LaRocca, author of Midsummer Mayhem
Linda Urban, author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect
Kacen Callender, author of Hurricane Child
Guadalupe García McCall, Pura Belpré Award-Winning Author of Summer of the Mariposas
Kirkus Reviews
Booklist
School Library Journal
About the Creators

YAMILE (sha-MEE-lay) SAIED MÉNDEZ is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine American author who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant and a New Visions Award Honor recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adult program. She’s a founding member of Las Musas, a marketing collective of women and non-binary Latinx children’s authors. Find her online at yamilesmendez.com.
Photo: Erin Summerill