On Amanda’s thirteenth birthday, her father is killed by a drunk driver while on the way to pick up her birthday present. She’s stunned when she overhears her mother blaming her: “If she hadn’t insisted on that stupid watch for her birthday, he would still be alive.” Her mom retreats into extra shifts at work, leaving Mandy with her grandmother and making her feel as if she has lost both parents. To make matters worse, she’s the butt of cruel pranks at school. One day, some girls even glue her skirt to the chair! But things take a turn for the better when she befriends Paloma, an unusual new student at Central Middle School, who introduces her to yoga and meditation. And she reluctantly becomes friends with Rogelio, a fat boy who is bullied even more than she is by their classmates.
- ISBN: 9781558857834
- Author: Bernal, Estela
- Published: 2014 , Pinata Books
- Themes: bullying, Death, Friendship, Grandmothers, Mothers and daughters, personal growth, resilience
- Descriptors: Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Latinx in US, Realistic Fiction
- No. of pages: 160