Reviews

Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene by Emma Otheguy

pib003's review

4.0

This was delightful, and I loved the accountability worked into the narrative.

ljrinaldi's review

4.0

Sofia comes from a family of dancers. Everyone can dance in her family, except her, but she muddles along anyway. Her sister is as talented as their parents. She is good at designing costumes, and would rather do that, but figures because she is an Acosta, the only choice she has is to dance.

The conflict is not so much that a Cuban dancer is going to defect, which is what the synopsis of this book claims, but that a new apartment building is going to be built for low income people, and some of the people already living there, don't want "those sorts" moving in. Sofia thinks it will be great that people can live closer to where they work.

Good middle grade story about speaking out for things that you have to speak out for.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

readersareleaders's review

hopeful inspiring

4.0

emileereadsbooks's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Kids for the gifted book that I read along with the library audio.

Sofia has grown up in a ballet centric home just outside of New York. Her Cuban American family lives and breathes ballet. Both her parents were professional dancers, her sister is a ballet prodigy, and her brother shows immense promise. However, Sofia is a bit of a ballet disaster. She would rather be dreaming up beautiful costumes than drilling 8 counts to perfection. But when one of her parent's friends from Cuba comes to visit with her talented son who is going to be a featured ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre, Sofia has to face what it means to be an Acosta and what it means to be a Cuban American.

I really enjoyed this book and this deep dive into a sub culture of America that I only know tangentially. I grew up dancing, but as someone who is height challenged I never had aspirations to be a professional ballerina. I didn't know the strong Cuban connection to ballet and I loved this exploration of how to fit into your family, how to harness your dreams, how to reconcile your ties to two countries and more. I was entertained throughout and thought this would make a great book for children and parents to discuss.

cedardleland's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

becca_willie04's review

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

cher_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

riellareads's review

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

lrector's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!  Emma Otheguy explores immigration and how hard it can be to find your voice when you are only 10 years old. Sofia and her family are Cuban and lucky enough to be excellent ballerinas, well, everyone but Sofia. Sofia is on a journey of self-discovery throughout the book. She loves sewing, not dance. She loves being Cuban but not arguing with her best friend about it. How can she be a proud Acosta without dance? How can she be a proud Cuban without offending her friend? Sofia discovers the answers to these questions throughout the book. 
There is a lot of important information. It's well written and hits on some hard topics in a way that kids can understand and learn from. There were times I was lost in too much detail of the chaotic Acosta house, but that would be my only critic. Otherwise this book was great.