The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya (Paperback)

Middle Grade Fiction - Family - Multigenerational - Social Themes - Emotions and Feelings - Ages 10+

Published: 4/3/2018

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book

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 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.

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
An E.B. White Read-Aloud Middle Reader Award finalist
A 2018 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
Amazon Best Children's Books of 2017
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2017
Chicago Public Library Best Book on 2017
NYPL Best Books for Kids 2017
2017 Nerdy Book Award Winner
2018 Texas Lone Star Reading List Selection
2018-2019 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee
2018-2019 Sunshine State Young Readers Award Nominee
Charlotte Observer Best Books of 2017 for Young Readers
News & Observer Best Books for Young Readers

AUTHOR BIO: 

Pablo Cartaya has always been a hopeless romantic. In middle school he secretly loved reading Shakespeare's sonnets (don't tell anyone), and he once spent his allowance on roses for a girl he liked. He also wrote her eight poems. Bad ones. He's been writing ever since. Pablo has worked in Cuban restaurants and the entertainment industry, and he graduated with an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. All of these experiences have helped him write stories that reflect his family, culture, and love of words. Pablo lives in Miami with his wife and two kids, surrounded by tías, tíos, cousins, and people who he calls cousins (but aren't really his cousins). Learn more about Pablo at pablocartaya.com.