Organization is an essential part of this as well. The skill here is not just in storytelling or poetry, but in the precision that builds an entire world that is accessible to middle grade readings with clarity and energy. I certainly knew little about life along the Texas border, but this story provided an easy visit. Bowles positions TexMex culture, politics, food and language at the center of the story and it’s the joy with which he writes about Güero’s antics that pulls us in, not whether we can relate to the family structure, love of dogs or freckled face. This is clearly an #OwnVoices story, one that serves as a mirror for some and a window for others. This is a solid middle class family and he’s kid who likes school, asks a girl to fight for him and loves playing with his friends and cousins. If you looking for poverty, abuse, gangs and crime then, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Written actually as a collection of poems, the book provides glimpses into Güero’s life as he enters the 7th grade. He’s just a boy being a boy doing stupid stuff boys do, hanging with his friends, enjoying school and spending time with his family. I think what I like most about They Call Me Güero is that it’s not a book about a young boy who’s too good or too bad, who’s trying to save the world or even find his place in it. Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Me Güero is a classic in the making and the recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor, a Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, a Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry, and a Walter Dean Myers Honor. And when life gets tough for this Mexican American border kid, he knows what to do: He writes poetry. Güero faces the start of seventh grade with heart and smarts, his family's traditions, and his trusty accordion.

(Don't cross Joanna-she's tough as nails.) Together, they joke around and talk about their expanding world, which now includes girls.

Güero is also a reader, gamer, and musician who runs with a squad of misfits called Los Bobbys. He feels at home on both sides of the river, speaking Spanish or English.

Like the Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez, twelve-year-old Güero is puro mexicano. Sometimes people only go off of what they see. They call him Güero because of his red hair, pale skin, and freckles. An award-winning novel in verse about a boy who navigates the start of seventh grade and life growing up on the border the only way that feels right-through poetry.

They Call Me Güero by David Bowles