Merci Suarez Changes Gears
Title: Merci Suarez Changes Gears
Genre: Newberry
Author: Meg Medina
Major Awards: Newbery Medal
Age Group: 9 - 12 year olds
Summary:
Merci Suarez Changes Gears is about a young sixth grade girl and her challenges at home and school.
Merci is a student at Seaward Pines Academy, where her and her brother, Roli are on scholarship due to
the fact that their family isn't very wealthy. She lives in one of the three “Las Casitas” next door to her
grandparents, Lolo and Abuela, Tia Ines, and her two little cousins, Tomas and Axel. As Merci begins a
new year she is faced with new challenges as well as some old such as ,a wealthy bratty girl named Edna
Santos. Another obstacle thrown her way this year is a program called, “Sunshine Buddies” in which she
is assigned a new boy named Michael Clark. Michael is Edna’s crush and this only makes things even
worse for Merci because Edna grows extremely jealous. Her home life isn't any better either. Merci’s
beloved Lolo has started to act strange and has become very forgetful and very easily angered. This in
return also means that she has to start helping out around the house more and sort of pick up Lolo’s slack.
Due to these new unforeseen events she is unable to try out for the Soccer team which she has been looking
forward to all year. To make matters worse, Merci undergoes a few challenges at school such as,
accidentally hitting Michael with a baseball, accidentally cutting Edna's eyebrows off, a destroyed project
due to spite, and a terrifying car accident. Finally one night, Merci finds out that Lolo has been battling
Alzheimers for two years and everyone knew but her. She becomes very angry and extremely sad when
she finds this out but she slowly over a few days starts to remember how much her family needs and loves
her. After her realization of how important her family really is to her ,she begins spending as much time as
possible with her family and tries to capture every moment with them by camera. Christmas morning rolls
around and to Meric’s surprise she gets a brand new bicycle! As she rides her new bike, it teaches her a
lesson that she can handle her life switching gears if she just keeps her head up and keeps on cruising . All
she has to do is keep her head up and keep pedaling through life and she can get through anything.
Merci is a student at Seaward Pines Academy, where her and her brother, Roli are on scholarship due to
the fact that their family isn't very wealthy. She lives in one of the three “Las Casitas” next door to her
grandparents, Lolo and Abuela, Tia Ines, and her two little cousins, Tomas and Axel. As Merci begins a
new year she is faced with new challenges as well as some old such as ,a wealthy bratty girl named Edna
Santos. Another obstacle thrown her way this year is a program called, “Sunshine Buddies” in which she
is assigned a new boy named Michael Clark. Michael is Edna’s crush and this only makes things even
worse for Merci because Edna grows extremely jealous. Her home life isn't any better either. Merci’s
beloved Lolo has started to act strange and has become very forgetful and very easily angered. This in
return also means that she has to start helping out around the house more and sort of pick up Lolo’s slack.
Due to these new unforeseen events she is unable to try out for the Soccer team which she has been looking
forward to all year. To make matters worse, Merci undergoes a few challenges at school such as,
accidentally hitting Michael with a baseball, accidentally cutting Edna's eyebrows off, a destroyed project
due to spite, and a terrifying car accident. Finally one night, Merci finds out that Lolo has been battling
Alzheimers for two years and everyone knew but her. She becomes very angry and extremely sad when
she finds this out but she slowly over a few days starts to remember how much her family needs and loves
her. After her realization of how important her family really is to her ,she begins spending as much time as
possible with her family and tries to capture every moment with them by camera. Christmas morning rolls
around and to Meric’s surprise she gets a brand new bicycle! As she rides her new bike, it teaches her a
lesson that she can handle her life switching gears if she just keeps her head up and keeps on cruising . All
she has to do is keep her head up and keep pedaling through life and she can get through anything.
I would love to use this book in my classroom if I taught upper elementary. I was a little unsure if I was
going to like this book but to my surprise I really enjoyed it. This book can be extremely relatable for many
students and I feel like a lot of individuals could relate to different aspects of her life. Things like, coming
from a low income family, dealing with bullies, being placed in tough situations, and even dealing with a
sick relative. It also has a great lesson at the end to never give up no matter how hard life gets and also
highlights the importance of family. I would keep this book in my library and even allow my students to
check it out to read whenever they pleased.
going to like this book but to my surprise I really enjoyed it. This book can be extremely relatable for many
students and I feel like a lot of individuals could relate to different aspects of her life. Things like, coming
from a low income family, dealing with bullies, being placed in tough situations, and even dealing with a
sick relative. It also has a great lesson at the end to never give up no matter how hard life gets and also
highlights the importance of family. I would keep this book in my library and even allow my students to
check it out to read whenever they pleased.
I think this book would be best for students in fourth to seventh grade. It is an extremely relatable book for
many children in several different aspects. Also, it has a great lesson at the end that demonstrates the
importance of never giving up no matter how hard life may seem. It is also pretty easy to read and understand
which I feel would be perfect for upper elementary and early junior high. It also is very relevant to kids in
these grades due to the very relatable aspects such as different popular social media platforms, popularity
issues in school, and the fact that she herself is in sixth grade.
many children in several different aspects. Also, it has a great lesson at the end that demonstrates the
importance of never giving up no matter how hard life may seem. It is also pretty easy to read and understand
which I feel would be perfect for upper elementary and early junior high. It also is very relevant to kids in
these grades due to the very relatable aspects such as different popular social media platforms, popularity
issues in school, and the fact that she herself is in sixth grade.
If I were to use this book as a lesson I would first have my kids read the book and take notes as they read it.
After, I would have them discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the book and all of the problems Merci
Suarez faced throughout it. I could also have them write a journal and ask if they relate to anything they read
in the book and if not how they would solve one of Merci’s problems. In addition, I would have my students
get into groups and have them do a book club to discuss all of the different parts of the book.
After, I would have them discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the book and all of the problems Merci
Suarez faced throughout it. I could also have them write a journal and ask if they relate to anything they read
in the book and if not how they would solve one of Merci’s problems. In addition, I would have my students
get into groups and have them do a book club to discuss all of the different parts of the book.
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