Friday Memes: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. 239 p. Viking/ Penguin Young Readers Group, May 16, 2017. 9781101997239.

Publisher synopsis: Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL? 

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

 First line: "note to self"

I'm officially resigning from love. Time is a cell will do that to a kid. For the record: I didn't do it.

Page 56: Abuela walked over to her bookshelf and took out a large wooden cigar box. Inside the box was a stack of letters neatly tied together with string, a few pens, a watch that didn't work, and a folded envelope.
     "Aqui esta la historia de tu abuelo y yo," she said, and handed me the dark-brown box that smelled like earth. When I looked at it more closely, I realized it wasn't just a stack of letters-there were also photographs, an old CD, and blank stationery. Abuela looked at me She pulled the llose strands of her thin gray hair back into a bun. Then she sat down in her recliner and told me to take the box. The box, she said, was the story of how poetry had helped bring her and Abuelo together.