Middle Grade Review: Speak Up Santiago

First in a new graphic novel series

Santiago is spending the summer with his grandmother. Everyone on that side of the family speaks Spanish, but he's just learning. His grandmother doesn't speak English that well. He's nervous that they will have trouble communicating. 

Santiago loves playing soccer and found a group of friends. Together, they hope to enter a tournament at the end of the month. But they all speak Spanish too. 

Santiago does pretty well for most of the summer, but he worries about being enough. When he overhears people talking about him and his language barrier, he shuts down. Will it cost him his happiness over the summer?

My Thoughts: I really loved this graphic novel. I love how Santiago was nervous in the beginning, but he found his footing. I loved the moments between him and his grandmother. This graphic novel had a lot of Spanish and English together. It's not an entire bilingual graphic novel, but it's close. I felt bad for Santiago and wanted to wrap in him up in a hug when things went sideways for him. But I did like how everything turned out. I also love that this series is continuing with one of the friends as the main character next. I can't wait to read what happens. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly Recommended for your school and public library