Mexikid- Newbery Honor Award Winner by Pedro Martin
Product Details
Web ID: 173347072 years ago
from Kansas
Epic storytelling, vibrant artistry
GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS BOOK! MEXIKID: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin has something for everyone. It tells the story of a kid taking a massive road trip with his huge family from the US to Mexico to bring back his abuelito (grandpa). It is epic! This adventurous book contains multitudes. History brought to life, pop culture references galore, cross-cultural and multi-generational explanations - I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this could be the Great American Novel (except for the fact that it's "100 percent true, 90 percent of the time" and that it says as much about Mexico as it does the U.S., but I digress). Think Little Miss Sunshine meets your favorite Star Wars movie meets O Brother Where Art Thou meets Don Quixote (or maybe that combo is just me?). Please do not let the fact that it is marketed to middle schoolers scare you away. The beauty of this book is that it treats readers like they are capable of handling it - handling rough edges of history, the traumatic and hilarious grossness of life, and the most unfortunate haircut you can imagine. This book is racking up all the starred reviews from the professionals, as well it should. It just has a way of making you laugh, think, cringe, wonder, and care. If you read it and it leaves you wanting more, definitely check out the comic series Mexikid Stories online. Personally, I can't wait to listen to the soundtrack of whatever movie gets created out of this. (Disclaimer: I know the author. He's a wonderful human being, and I can vouch for what a labor of love crafting this magnum opus has been. Plus, his hair eventually grew back.)
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
2 years ago
from Boston, MA
HIlarious and insightful, a roadtrip for all.
Pedro Martín's Mexikid lives in the soul of every child of immigrants, hispanic or not. His love and admiration for his parents, and family are only equal to the perplexity a child can have at human behavior, and it meshes into amazing insight at all the themes that are treated throughout the hefty memoire that is Mexikid. But most of all, Mexikid is a beautiful homage to the life of a family of two cultures, finding a way to thrive in spite of hardship and adversity, with a lot of shenanigans, revelations and delicious meals sandwiched by way too many bananas and spam from a Winnebago. In this long road trip into his families roots to pick up a superhuman sounding relative, Martín’s come of age story defies any expected cliches with a grounded voice that is extremely relatable amidst the strange but familiar world that a different country can conjure. As an immigrant with a difficult-for-english-speakers-to-pronounce-name , I find Pedro’s/Peter journey echoing so much of my anxiety at raising a pair of similarly named American kids that will only know their culture through similar experiences, and I will treasure this book as a roadmap or beacon to how I wish my children embrace their cultures and how much they can add to them eventually. Almost mandated reading after this, is Martín’s webcomic, Mexikid stories, with dozens of beautiful/hilarious stories about life as a child of immigrants in the United States, immensely relatable for anyone. Hoping to see this one do very well.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com