Luz is skeptical of her mother and new stepfather's decision to move the family to Puerto Rico. But as time goes on, the subtle charms of the place and the enchanting Coqui frogs begin to grow on her, and she starts a journey of discovery that reveals who she is and where she really belongs. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Seventh-grader Luz Sorrento movingly relates the challenges of being uprooted from Chicago to her mother's native Puerto Rico in Polikoff's (Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio) ambitious novel. Being 13 is not easy for Luz, especially in a new school where a bully calls her "Scarface" (for the "worm"-shaped scar on her face resulting from a tussle with her older brother), having to share a home with Leon, her stepfather, and leaving behind her best friend. The somewhat disjointed style of the narrative mirrors Luz's difficulty finding her bearings, but it also contributes to the underdevelopment of some key relationships between Luz and other members of her family (her brother, Rome, as well as her aunt and Leon). Still the author crafts some moments of true poignancy, especially with Luz's mother and grandfather, and a newfound friend, Rosita. And Luz's sense of humor and her attempts to make the best of things will likely warm readers' hearts: "Instead of buying a plastic Christmas tree (no evergreens here) we strung colored lights on our big eggplant bush.... Instead of singing 'O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,' we sang 'O eggplant bush, O eggplant bush.' " Some dramatic subplots threaten to overwhelm the book's central themes (Luz's father, whom she believes never loved her, abandoned the family; her friend Rosita's uncle abuses Rosita's blind mother and also runs a drug ring in which Rome becomes peripherally involved), but Polikoff makes the sights, smells and sound of Puerto Rico come to life. Ages 10-up. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 4-6 In a reverse scenario of the usual immigrant story, Luz, 13, and her family move to Puerto Rico, where her mother and new stepfather were born. Her older brother is miserable and her sister is too young to really care. Polikoff is more successful at capturing Luz's spirit and her growing acceptance of her new home than she is at making vivid the contrasting tugs between the girl's happy life in Chicago and the satisfaction that being closer to extended family can exert. While typical newcomer issues emerge, this is a distinct child with distinct concerns. She is embarrassed about the terrible scar on her face and aware that her Italian father, who deserted the family years ago, never showed much interest in her. Readers will connect with Luz, but not knowing how fluent she is in Spanish dissipates that sense of "otherness" that would authenticate her experience. Still, this is useful emigrant fiction that shows some of the adjustment required without overwhelming readers with unfamiliar cultural details. Carol A. Edwards, Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, CO Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 5-8. "How can home be a place I've never been?" asks 13-year-old Luz, who has just moved with her family from Chicago to Puerto Rico, her "real home," as her mother likes to say. Luz's mother and stepfather were both born in Puerto Rico, but Luz and her older brother, Rome, feel like American outsiders in their tiny new town. Several dramas unfold: Luz befriends a neighborhood girl with a drug-dealing, abusive uncle; Rome tries to run away. And then there are Luz's struggles to reconcile old sorrows--a long scar on her jaw; abandonment by her birth father--while adjusting to new changes. Not all the stories introduced in the crowded plot are fully developed, but Luz, an aspiring poet, beautifully describes the pain of leaving and resettling in a sensitive, sometimes lyrical voice that's always true to her age. Like Polikoff's excellent novel Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio (1992), this is a gentle, direct story about the largest heartaches: learning to love and let go of beloved family; and what it means to feel at home. GillianEngberg. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.