Meg Medina Books In Order

Publication Order of Merci Suárez Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of She Persisted Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Meg Medina is an award-winning bestselling young adult, children’s literature and fiction books author. She won the Pura Belpre award in 2014 for her novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, and later in 2016, she won the same award courtesy of her Mango, Abuela, and Me picture book. Medina won the International Latino Book Award, and CYBILS fiction award for her novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass.

Meg’s books often detail how different cultures intersect, as narrated through the perspectives of young people. She presents her readers with stories about what is unique in Latino cultures featuring strong female protagonists. In 2014, Meg was accredited as one of CNN’s 10 Visionary Women in America and recognized as one of Latino Stories Top Ten Latino Authors to Watch. When not crafting unique stories with strong girls’ protagonists, you will find Meg working on community projects supporting girls, youths, and literacy. She is a resident of Richmond, Virginia.

In her award-winning novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, Meg Medina majorly focuses on the theme of bullying. This is not just “another” typical book about bullying, but instead, it’s “a” book about it featuring strong characterization showing the power of women, especially when they unite.

The main character in the book is Piddy Sanchez, a Latina girl who finds herself in a new high school due to her mother’s efforts to improve their living quarters. Her arrival draws the notice of the wrong person almost immediately. As a matter of fact, the first chapter line is the book title, words spoken by Yaqui’s friend, Vanessa. Through this, the reader cannot help but notice that bullying starts right before we get to know the main characters, something that most of us have experienced in our high school years. It takes another schoolgirl to explain that statement clearly. The mysterious Yaqui (later introduced in the book) decides that Piddy is stuck and has her eyes on her boyfriend. But Piddy wouldn’t know Yaqui’s boyfriend if she was in love with him.

From such a simple introduction, a psychologically intricate web begins in the mind of Piddy. Most of the time feels like prey, an innocent animal stalked by a deadly predator. Later in the book, Yaqui appears, and the intimidation rises to a whole new level, and soon Piddy is traumatized such that she fears going outside and school. She soon becomes hated, hunted, and haunted for no fault. Helps comes to Piddy through her mother’s best friend, Lila. Piddy’s mother has a personality without restraint. She often offers her daughter ideas on what it means to be a lady, but she, too, has skeletons in the closet about the whereabouts of Piddy’s mother. She burns all his photos, and Piddy is determined to know him more. Meg creates a subplot of the conflict between the daughter and the mother to the mayhem at school. Piddy works a Saturday job at a local Salon Corazon, where adults come for styling and gossip. For a teenager like Piddy, it is a perfect spot to learn about the wiles of men and the ways of adults. Unfortunately, Yaqui and her gang find their way to the salon turning her beautiful Saturday paradise into another trap.
Eventually, the threats turn into actions, and Piddy has to seek help from anywhere, including from Joey Halper, a kid who often called her Toad as a child. Meg Medina does a fantastic job of showing the reader what it is like to be a bullied, hunted, and haunted girl in desperate need of love while at the same time hiding secrets (Yaqui’s bullying), which she silently suffers until the threats turn into violence that leaves visible marks on her body.

This tale of strong Latina women will charm you with its courage and honesty. It’s impossible not to cheer for the main character and enjoy the sassy women surrounding her. Yaqui is a perfect antagonist that every reader will love to hate. While this book might be a little edgy for middle school, it is perfect for any high school library, personal or school. It features a wide cast of characters, Darlene, Lila, Joey, Ma, Rob, and Yaqui, all dealing with real issues and their reactions to their problems. No one is clean, which makes this book relatable to real life. Bullying is a problem in our schools and even workplaces. It is a forefront issue that Meg Medina doesn’t shy away from discussing how it affects the survivors- poor grades, fear of retribution, and truancy and thankfully, all these themes are discussed in the book.

Meg Medina’s 2018 Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a book about a thoughtful and courageous sixth grader Merci Suarez as she navigates through life’s complex changes with friends, family, and everyone around her.

For Merci Suarez, she knew that the sixth grade would be something different, but she had no closest idea of different it could be. Merci has never been like any other kid in her private school in Florida because she and her brother are under a scholarship program. They come from a humble background, don’t have a big house or fancy boat, and are forced to do extra community service to cover their free tuition. But when bossy Edna sets her eyes on the new kid, who is also Merci’s assigned buddy, Merci soon finds herslef the target of Edna’s jealousy. On the other hand, things aren’t going well at home as Merci’s grandfather, her most trusted ally, has been acting strangely, falling from his bike, forgetting things, and getting agitated over nothing. And even worse, no one in the family wants to tell Merci what’s going on, leaving her to her worries at home and school.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears is a perfect coming-of-age book full of wisdom and humor at the same time. The author gets to the core of confusion and rapid change that characterizes middle school and the strong connection that characterizes family and friendship.