Thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora lives in Miami with his large, boisterous extended family. Life revolves around the family's restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla, which has been a local institution for nearly twenty years. This summer, though, an outsider has arrived, and is making plans to gentrify the area with a gigantic complex with apartments, a gym, and a movie theater. This developer even wants to take over the land on which La Cocina stands. Meanwhile, Arturo is trying to figure out his crush on Carmen, a girl who is not-really-a-cousin-but-almost. Can Arturo save the restaurant, make his ailing abuela proud, and win over Carmen, all before starting eighth grade?
Arturo, his friends, and his family are unique and dynamic characters. Cartaya describes the characters in detail, with Arturo's strong mother and warm grandmother serving as the pillars of the family. By incorporating some history, including the poetry of Cuban poet Jose Marti, Cartaya is able to give an in-depth look at Arturo's grandparents' relationship.
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is a delightful and fun book exploring the themes of family and faith, the two things abuela consistently reminds Arturo are the most important in life. These themes are particularly prominent in Hispanic/Latinx culture, in which large extended families are the norm, as is the focus on food. The central setting of the story is in Miami, at the family restaurant. The vibrant restaurant scenes make us feel as if we can almost taste the meals. In fact, at the end of the story, Cartaya includes recipes with his own commentary.
Cartaya does an excellent job of integrating Spanish words into his text. The character Arturo often clarifies the meaning for readers who don't read Spanish, and he does so in a way that does not become repetitive. Rather than just give a straight translation or rely on notes, the dialogue carries on, elaborating and clarifying.
I listened to the audio version, and Cartaya read the book himself. This truly added to the experience for me. The author used different voices for his characters, and his voice had so much expression. Cartaya is Cuban American and is from Miami, which is clear in the deep way he addressed the culture in the book. He is definitely a qualified voice to amplify the stories of young Latinx people in his middle grades literature. He will be appearing at the South Texas Book Festival in November, and I look forward to meeting him and getting him to sign a copy of his book for me!
A Pura Belpre Author Honor Book, The Epic Fail earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly. The writing was refreshing and flowed nicely. The book was an easy read, with some chapters written in creative styles, like the dialogue between Arturo and his friends, and the text messages employed to show authenticity for the age of the characters.
A social studies class could read this book and then extend the historical research by learning about Jose Marti, a Cuban poet and activist who is discussed at length in the book. Students could research Marti and create a presentation of his poems and brief biography.
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