Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, as strong and thoughtful as Merci is, she has never been completely like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. And Merci is left to her own worries, because no one in her family will tell her what's going on. Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal, this coming-of-age tale by New York Times best-selling author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.
主人公麦西是一个刚刚升上六年级的11岁女孩，和私立学校里的大多数孩子不同，她需要在课余时间勤工俭学来支付学费。新学期伊始，老师分配给麦西一项新工作——帮助转学生迈克尔，这项看似普通的工作使麦西的校园生活发生了翻天覆地的变化。与此同时，麦西的家里也发生了难以预料的事情，她的祖父洛洛表现得有些奇怪，他总是忘记重要的事情：在幼儿园接错孩子，从自行车上摔下来，并且无缘无故地生气……麦西循着蛛丝马迹，发现了家人隐藏的秘密……麦西理解了亲情的可贵，在家人的开导和关爱下，她调整好心态，决定接受这变化莫测的生活，乐观地迎接明天。
作者通过心理活动和对话描写塑造了一个11岁女孩的形象，用朴实的文字勾勒出校园和家庭生活的变化，细腻描绘出人与人之间的理解与包容，启示读者接受变化，感悟亲情，拥抱人生。
By Meg Medina, Paperback, Simplified Chinese charactesr, 256 pages, 7.75”x5.5“
