Merci Suárez Plays It Cool

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 1

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 2 — ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In 2016 I began writing a story about a plucky business-minded eleven-year-old eleven-year-old who was the daughter of a Florida paint contractor Sol Painting Inc. was part of the anthology Flying Lessons Other Stories Crown 2017 I instantly fell in love with the girl who was learning for the first time about how the world works around immigrants and dreams From that seed I grew Merci and a whole universe around her into what became the Merci Suárez trilogy that ends with this novel It's hard to believe that this book will be the last in the adventures of Merci and her complicated and loving family I will miss them along with all the friends and foes at Seaward Pines Academy They have felt real to me and I hope it has been that way for you too I don't write my books alone no writer does We get help large and small The biggest support I always receive is from my family every day so I'll start with a big thanks to Javier Cristina Sandra and Alex whose love and encouragement make everything seem possible I'm especially grateful for having taken this book journey with my editor Kate Fletcher who seemed to understand Merci at all points of her growing up and who has also always understood me as a writer over the many projects we've published together Her heart and wisdom are all over these pages My Candlewick Press family have all ushered my books into the world with passion Thank you Karen Lotz Susan Batcheller John Mendelson Jennifer Roberts Phoebe Kosman and Anne Irza-Leggat for leading the charge with innovation and heart Thank you Alex Robertson for your early thoughts on the draft especially about Avery and for always checking my Spanish Thank you too to my copyeditors and proofreaders Maya Myers Jackie Houton Sarah Chaffee Paris and Martha Dwyer for catching all my inconsistencies and flubs Thank you Erika Sanchez for helping our Latinx community discover Merci on the shelves A huge gracias to Joe Cepeda for the cover illustration and Pam Consolazio for creating the beautiful visual design And finally an

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 3 — electronic fist bump to the social media team especially Ally Russell and Raquel Matos Stecher for all their efforts to get the word out Writers depend on experts to get their facts right I want to give a shout out to some folks who provided expertise when I needed it Adrienne Giles at James Madison University helped me understand the obstacles college students face and how someone like Roli might meet them Steve Peterson was my daughter Sandra's soccer coach many years ago He has remained a good friend and was very willing to chat with me about players and the many ways they sometimes act out on the field As I always do I want to thank my friends in the writing community too many to name who offered terrific ideas when I needed them and who have been so supportive over the years Where would we be without each other Lamar Giles our morning phone calls got me through many a hard writing day But mostly for this book I want to thank all the readers teachers and librarians who have laughed and cried with Merci over the years You are part of my family now as surely as these books are Merci navigated so many ups and downs in middle school as she dealt with the harder truths of life her mistakes her disagreements with friends and classmates and ultimately the unbearable loss of her beloved Lolo I hope her story gave you lots to think about I hope it will live inside you and inside the readers who will discover these novels in the coming years as well I hope Merci's story will help you as you grow up and face hard things too The future is yours Meg Medina

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 4 — CHAPTER 1 SHUT THAT SCREEN DOOR Merci You're letting in mosquitoes Mami's sharp voice makes me jump as Tuerto dashes between my legs He doesn't even stop for a chin scratch in his race to escape the heat It's early but Mami's already in her scrubs for work though she's still padding in bedroom slippers and a sloppy ponytail Her eyebrows aren't drawn in yet either Sorry I was just letting him in before he got too loud I say swatting at the half dozen bloodsuckers that are now darting around the kitchen The sun was barely up when I heard the meows They echoed through our backyards sounding like one of those spirits that Abuela warns about a tátara-something-or-other buried back in Cuba who gets testy if they think they've been forgotten by their descendants Anyway when I flipped on the light I found Tuerto glaring at me from outside his front claws clinging high and wide against the screen like he was the victim of a stickup Did that cat shred the mesh again Mami asks exasperated Your father just fixed it last week No. I move my body to hide the new tear near the seam She's not above making me pay for the repair But can I help it if our cat is a genius He's learned to yowl and shake the door to let us know he wants to come in I've taken videos of him doing that trick because one my friend Wilson and I like trading funny cat videos when we're bored and two while it may be lousy door manners we've seen pets on Those Awesome Animals on TV win the 5,000 prize for less Maybe we'll get lucky And anyway you can't blame Tuerto for wanting to come in from the heat can you He's wearing a fur coat you know and it's his nature

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