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  • Published: 27 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593462577
  • Imprint: Kokila
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $40.00

They Call Her Fregona

A Border Kid's Poems




“You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she’s tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.
 
Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero

A companion to the Pura Belpré Honor book They Call Me Güero

“You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she’s tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.
 
Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.

  • Published: 27 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593462577
  • Imprint: Kokila
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $40.00

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Praise for They Call Her Fregona

PRAISE FOR THEY CALL ME GÜERO:
 
“David Bowles’s novel in verse introduces readers to Güero, a bilingual ‘border kid’ with an active life and a love of poetry.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
 
“A richly rewarding tour through many borderlands, including adolescence itself, and a defiant celebration of identity.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
“Vibrant and unforgettable.” —School Library Journal, starred review
 
2019 Pura Belpré Honor Book
2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Outstanding Children’s Literature
2019 Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry
2019 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
2019 ALSC Notable Children’s Book, 2019
2019 NCTE Notable Verse Novels
2019 Américas Award, Commended Title
2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet List