Starred Review Lupe Wong knows she's going to play in the majors someday, but for now, she just has to get straight As so she can meet baseball player Fu Li Hernandez. The only thing that stands in her way is the new P.E. unit: square dancing. After attempting to have it removed from the curriculum, matters snowball until Lupe must not only square dance alone but also face the loss of one of her best friends well as the ire of her classmates and baseball team. Meanwhile, Lupe struggles with the loss of her dad mething that makes meeting Hernandez her top goal. As she examines her actions, realizing what is most important to her, Lupe grows closer to her friends, brings appreciation of different cultures cluding her own Mexican and Chinese heritages her school, and even learns that she enjoys square dancing. In addition to a strong and at-times stubborn protagonist, a cast including good friends and thoughtful parents, grandparents, and teachers we should all be so lucky to have is a big part of what makes this such a wonderful read. Humorous, fast-paced chapters will have readers turning the pages to find out what interesting situation Lupe will find herself in next. A laugh-out-loud story about family, friendship, and the beauty in being true to yourself.

The only thing standing between Lupe Wong and her chance to meet fellow Chinacan (or is it Mexinese?) Fu Li Hernandez, "the first Asian/Latino pitcher in the major leagues," is an A in PE class. But for seventh graders at Issaquah Middle School, that means square dancing. Lupe, always willing to fight for a cause, is determined to cancel what she sees as both an obstacle and an outdated tradition. Unfortunately, she ends up alienating her two best friends (not to mention the rest of the class) in the process. Now Lupe has to decide which causes are worth fighting for and what she's willing to sacrifice to do the right thing. Ultimately, her efforts both raise awareness of the racist history of the song "Turkey in the Straw" and make room for more than one kind of dancing at Issaquah's first annual Family Celebration of Cultures Night. As Lupe observes, "Some of us aren't even from here. And some of us were right here before this country existed. But none of us are any better than the other." Issues of identity, equity, and inclusion are explored with humor and heart in Higuera's debut, and readers will cheer right along with Lupe's family and friends when she, accompanied by Fu Li, promenades all the way to the pitcher's mound. Anamaria Anderson

Lupe Wong, bona fide jock, is horrified that square dancing is the next unit in her seventh grade phys ed class.Dead set on meeting her sports idol, Fu Li Hernandez, the first Asian/Latino pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, Lupe needs to get straight A's to cash in on Uncle Hector's promise. Fu Li is Chinacan-just like Lupe, whose mom is Mexican and late dad was Chinese. Determined to put a halt to square dancing, Lupe brings everyone into her cause: her authentically diverse group of friends, her interracial family, her wise principal, and even her endearing PE teacher. As Lupe doggedly challenges school tradition, readers will connect to her strong internal voice, empathize with her setbacks, and celebrate her victories. Higuera creates a very real multicultural middle school community complete with wisecracking humor, mean girls, and a realistic friendship fallout. Lupe has a wonderfully diverse group of friends with a wide range of interests, from Star Trek to soccer, deftly avoiding "diversity quota" pitfalls. Lupe's own mixed-heritage family is refreshingly representative of families today. Principal Singh is Indian; Lupe's best friend, Andy, is Guinean; and all other primary characters are presumed white.Grab your partners and do-si-do-this one is simply delightful. (Fiction. 8-12)

Higuera updates an age-old American PE tradition with thoroughly modern sensibilities in this earnest, comedic novel, which follows outspoken half-Chinese, half-Mexican seventh-grader Guadalupe -Lupe- Wong and her crusade to cancel square dancing. If 12-year-old ace pitcher Lupe gets all