Cartaya, Pablo.
MARCUS VEGA DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH
New York : Viking, 2018
IL 5-8
ISBN 9781101997260

(4 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Marcus Vega’s Puerto Rican father left the family when Marcus was young and he has had an obsession of finding his absentee father and why he left. To help out his overworked, single mom, Marcus makes money at middle school by providing protection services from the school bully and other troubles. When Marcus gets suspended for punching the school bully, his mom decides to take the family to Puerto Rico to regroup and meet some of his father’s relatives. While there, Marcus is determined to find his father and get the answers he has been seeking at any cost. Travel along with Marcus as he uncovers the true meaning of family and learns a little Spanish along the way. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2019-2020)

Booktalk #2

Marcus Vega does not fit in. He is the biggest student in the eighth grade, and the other students are a little afraid of him. This does help him earn some extra money, though, as he earns money by offering a bully protection service to the school’s most picked on kids, walking them to and from school. The money he earns goes into his struggling mom’s cash jar. When one of the bullies calls Marcus’s brother, Charlie, who has Down Syndrome, a retard, Marcus hits him and is suspended from school. Marcus’s mother decides to use this time to pull together as a family and takes the boys to Puerto Rico, where they meet their large and loving extended family. Despite Marcus only focusing on hunting for his father who abandoned the family ten years before, Marcus begins to learn what family means and where he fits in. This is a charming look at Puerto Rico and its culture, and you will love the relationship that Marcus has with his funny and adorable brother, Charlie.  (Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Awards, 2020)

Booktalk #3

Marcus Vega has a reputation that speaks for itself: don’t mess with me.  Students cringe in fear at the mention of his name but when they need help and protection, Marcus is their go-to guy.  Because of his huge size, Marcus has many nicknames: the Mastodon of Montgomery Middle, the Springfield Skyscraper, the Moving Mountain, and the Terrible Tower.  Do not let his size fool you though; Marcus has a heart of gold especially for his younger brother.  Marcus helps the kids at school by operating a business that helps protect the students from bullies and in his mind, enforces the school rules.  However, once he has found out, Marcus lands in a heap of trouble that gets him suspended.  This leads his mother to rethink her priorities and take them on a vacation to Puerto Rico where Marcus hopes to find his father that he has never met.  (Prepared by: Kay Falls, York Intermediate School, kfalls@york.k12.sc.us)   (South Carolina Book Awards, 2020-2021)

Booktalk #4

The Terrible Tower, the Springfield Skyscraper are just two of the names that Marcus Vega is called as a result of being 180 pounds and six feet tall in 8th grade. Kids clear out of his way when he walks down the hall. But in reality, if they could see Marcus with his little brother Charlie, who has Down’s Syndrome, they would see a gentle giant. Marcus helps feed Charlie when their single mother is working late. He helps bathe him, get him ready for bed, and he lets Charlie tickle him until he can hardly breathe. So when the school bully calls Charlie the “R” word, Marcus punches him in the face and is suspended. This leads his mother to take the family on a trip to Puerto Rico to meet their father’s family although their father abandoned them ten years ago. Marcus sees this as an opportunity to search for his father, but he’ll find much more as he journeys across the beautiful island with the support of his loving family (Sunshine State Young Readers Award Books 2020-2021)