A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero-while the whole country is watching. When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz’s father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. My anger is powerful enough for change.” (pg 284) AboutĬlick to read other book reviews Synopsis I finally get it.īesides, anger is too powerful to waste on hurting him. It’s why he took so long to tell me and my brother he’d run for president.

It’s like Papi always says, important decisions take time and preparation. 'Sylvester adeptly delves behind the scenes in political families' lives while presenting the complexity of a young woman realizing that her parents are not the heroes she always believed them to be.A timely call to stand up for your beliefs.“I’m still angry, angrier than I’ve ever been. Sylvester expertly puts readers inside the pressured lives of a family in politics and reaffirms the adage that indeed, knowledge is power.' -Booklist, STARRED review

★ 'Sylvester's YA debut embodies the theme of our decade: to stand up and speak up for what we believe in. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.īut how do you find your voice when everyone’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father-publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it? In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president.

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