Fifteen-year-old Sue is not looking forward to going to Honduras this summer with her family. She would rather be with her friends at Camp Willow, canoeing and hiking. Expecting to spend her time in Honduras bored or with her nose in a manga, she is horrified to find out that her mother had secretly been planning to surprise her with a grand quinceañera, against her wishes. What starts off as her worst nightmare for Sue, who hates being under the spotlight and is self-conscious about her Spanish, then becomes a summer where Sue learns to embrace her culture on her own terms. Fajardo's colorful artwork is lively, full of emotion, and done in a style that will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jen Wang. Miss Quinces is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that teaches young readers that there can be a balance between accepting themselves for who they are while also cherishing their multigenerational family traditions.

All Sue (Suyapa Yisel to her family) Gutierrez wants to do this summer is hang out with her Comics Club buddies at Camp Willow. But her overprotective mom has planned a family trip to Honduras to see Abuelita Rita and celebrate Sue's quinceanera -- a party she never asked for and would rather skip. Feeling doomed to a boring and uninspiring summer, Sue finds that spending time with her abuelita, an artist herself, is anything but dull. Rita's consejos -- advice, wisdom, and family stories -- help Sue gain a new closeness to her family and learn to cherish cultural traditions. With the coming-of-age ceremony, she resolves to "be braver and embrace [her] true colors," adapting the longstanding tradition in a way that lets it remain relevant to her own life. Fajardo's deft graphic-novel paneling and expressive use of line and Azzi's color palette of cool blues and pinks convey the complexity and full range of Sue's feelings, both in important moments and in more mundane ones. An author's note, additional information about quinceaneras, and photographs are appended. Lettycia Terrones

New Yorker and aspiring graphic novelist Suyapa Gutiérrez, the protagonist of Fajardo-s solo debut, would rather spend her 15th birthday reading manga than dancing in a -weird poofy dress- at a quinceañera. But on a family trip to visit her mother-s family in Honduras, Sue learns that her mother has already planned the celebration-with a pink princess theme-and invited 100 guests. Sue-s beloved artist grandmother proposes a compromise: if Sue has the quinces of her mother-s dreams, she-ll get to attend sleepaway camp with friends. But as the family prepares, her grandmother-s health takes a turn, making for a very different kind of ceremony. Choppy-haired, bespectacled Sue, who prefers black to pink and longs for more independence than her protective parents allow, embodies challenges that will be recognizable to many. Fajardo is sympathetic to the entire extended family: Sue-s parents make concessions to the individual she-s becoming (she receives a pair of construction boots, not pumps, for the celebration-s shoe ceremony), and Sue learns to cherish family tradition en route to appreciating her Honduran heritage. A slightly redundant travelogue, Sue-s creation for class, concludes; Fajardo closes with photos from her own quinces and a glossary. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (May)-