A review by thatbookwhisperer
Shine On, Luz Véliz! by Rebecca Balcárcel
4.0
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Synopsis: Shine on Luz Véliz follows the story of Luz as she’s dealing with the aftermath of her knee injury. She’s used to being a star on the soccer field but now that she can’t, she misses her families cheering and excitement. When she discovers she has a knack for coding and all things computers she is eager to make something good enough to showcase at the school robotics show. But a new edition to the family and troubles with her programming will cause halts along the way.
Pros:
- I loved the relationship between Luz and Solana, I really liked how it developed and there were many cute moments between the two of them
-Mr.Mac was such a fun character who really added to the plot and the overall story
-I enjoyed getting to see Luz fall in love with coding and it was nice to have some girls in stem representation
Cons:
-at times I found the character of Luz to be annoying, however most of this was changed through her character arc
Something else that really stood out to me was the way the book talked about injuries/being injured. As someone who is currently injured and has been dealing with injury for the past 10 or so months here are some quotes that hit me hard:
“So now I don’t carry around the prop of an Injured Person, but the damage is still there.”
-page 20
“The pain makes me tear up again, not because it hurts, but because I can’t get past it. I can’t seem to leave the injury behind. It’s always there, reminding me that I can’t be special, that I can’t be a star, that no one will ever cheer for me now.”
-page 209
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Synopsis: Shine on Luz Véliz follows the story of Luz as she’s dealing with the aftermath of her knee injury. She’s used to being a star on the soccer field but now that she can’t, she misses her families cheering and excitement. When she discovers she has a knack for coding and all things computers she is eager to make something good enough to showcase at the school robotics show. But a new edition to the family and troubles with her programming will cause halts along the way.
Pros:
- I loved the relationship between Luz and Solana, I really liked how it developed and there were many cute moments between the two of them
-Mr.Mac was such a fun character who really added to the plot and the overall story
-I enjoyed getting to see Luz fall in love with coding and it was nice to have some girls in stem representation
Cons:
-at times I found the character of Luz to be annoying, however most of this was changed through her character arc
Something else that really stood out to me was the way the book talked about injuries/being injured. As someone who is currently injured and has been dealing with injury for the past 10 or so months here are some quotes that hit me hard:
“So now I don’t carry around the prop of an Injured Person, but the damage is still there.”
-page 20
“The pain makes me tear up again, not because it hurts, but because I can’t get past it. I can’t seem to leave the injury behind. It’s always there, reminding me that I can’t be special, that I can’t be a star, that no one will ever cheer for me now.”
-page 209