The Spanish edition of Something Like Home. Review is of the English edition.
In this beautiful Pura Belpré Honor-winning novel in verse, 11-year-old Laura Rodríguez Colón wonders if she shouldn’t have called 911 when her parents overdosed. Now she’s living with her Aunt Titi but missing her parents and home, while trying to make friends at a new school. When she takes in an abandoned puppy, she wants to train it as a therapy dog so that she can visit her parents at the rehab center. But her parents struggle to take care of themselves, and Laura might end up living with Titi longer than she had hoped.
With the help of her therapist, however (who is nonbinary), along with new friends, her aunt, and even the puppy, Laura eventually comes to realize that she can still love her parents despite their actions, and she learns speak up for herself despite so much of her life feeling out of her control.
The subject matter is difficult, but author Andrea Beatriz Arango handles it thoughtfully, balancing an authentic-feeling realness with a touch of hope. Highly recommended.
Laura and her family are of Puerto Rican heritage. Spanish is used at times in the text, but easily understood from context even for non-Spanish speakers. (Laura herself is not fluent in it.)
