Reviews

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

booksbooksbooks42's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

fountain_ken's review against another edition

Not what I expected! I'm happy to finally have this off my tbr list, and ofc I got nostalgic, but I feel bot the target audience (not just bc if my age) but also the target audience. I have more thoughts like why rambutans and not quenepas? Why the jíbaro sandwich and not something more well-known? Were they supposed to be parallels to Marcus and his family as finding their roots/diaspora feels? Idk! It was alright tho. I liked how Marcus' anger was portrayed and his anxiety.

melissaverasreads's review against another edition

4.0

Very cute story.

Mi opinión: https://www.instagram.com/p/COGkNjuL5n6/

brittneyfike's review

3.0

I didn’t love this one. I felt like there wasn’t much of a plot and that it just minded ended and nothing was resolved. I liked Marcus and his family and the adventure but needed more to it I guess.

kennisn's review

5.0

This book hit close to home. My life shares many parallels with that of Marcus Vega (though I do speak Spanish). We were both born in Puerto Rico and left for the United States as toddlers. We were both raised by single mothers who struggled to get by. And we both had absent fathers. This book is about Marcus coming to terms with his father and what that means for his life. I really enjoyed reading about Marcus' first trip back to the island - the excitement of a new world and new family members he hadn't known opening up to him. You see beauty all around, from the brightly-painted hostel his uncle owns in Old San Juan to the lush mountains of his aunt's farm. It made me really miss Puerto Rico. It was a joy to read and thanks to Hannah for recommending it!

hollydaze71's review against another edition

3.0

I'm going to end my year with young adult fiction. This one is universal in terms of kids who don't fit in, kids who don't have fathers, trying to find out who you are and it happens to be with Hispanic male for the lead character! I'm always looking for books for my young men at school. Was a good read.

benyoda95's review against another edition

3.0

I was starting to get frustrated with the main character about half way through. I was unsure how the author was going to handle meeting his dad, and while some of it felt a little forced, overall I enjoyed.

mbrandmaier's review against another edition

4.0

After Marcus punches the school bully for making fun of his brother, his mother announced that they need a trip away to “regroup” and that Marcus can choose the destination.

Marcus chooses his birthplace of Puerto Rico, where his father moved back to and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. When they get to PR, Marcus meets family he never even knew he had while embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

I like that there is a realistic ending to the storyline of Marcus finding and confronting his father. It feels true to life.

sara_hudson's review against another edition

5.0

The audiobook, read by the author, is fantastic. Pablo Cartaya does an amazing job, and I was hanging on every word. I loved Marcus - the 14 year old who is carrying too heavy a load. He does it with more grace than should be expected, caring for his younger brother with Downs Syndrome, protecting other kids at school from a bully, sneaking money in the household cash stash so his mom doesn't know and won't feel guilty. All while wondering why his father left. And Cartaya doesn't give us any easy answers, which I appreciate. Just great.

retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition

4.0

Marcus Vega is in middle school and hasn't seen his father in years. He's somewhere on Puerto Rico, and Marcus wants to find him to see if he can help his stressed out mother and pay for special school for his special needs brother, Charlie. He's making money protecting sixth graders from the school bully, Stephen. He gets suspended when he fights Stephen, and persuades his mother to take them to Puerto Rico to find his father. The rest of the book is a trek around Puerto Rico, where Charlie and Marcus discover a lot of wonderful family, their mother relaxes into a happy person, and eventually they find the father. Who isn't worth knowing. A great read.