Posts Tagged middle-grade readers

It is my extreme pleasure to welcome Alexandra Alessandri to the Mixed Up Files today.

Alexandra Alessandri

Alexandra Alessandri is the award-winning author of several books for children, including Isabel and Her Colores go to School, The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía, and Lupita’s Hurricane Palomitas. The daughter of Colombian immigrants, she is also an educator and a poet. She lives in Florida with her husband and son and today, she’s here to tell us about her latest book GROW UP, LUCY ZAPATA.

About the Book and Characters:

Luchy and Cami’s friendship is central to the story. What inspired you to explore the ups and downs of a long-time friendship during such a pivotal time as middle school?

The inspiration for Luchy and Cami’s friendship began as my son finished fifth grade and embarked on his middle school journey. I was revising another project, but as I lived through those moments with him, navigating the messy feelings of excitement, fear, and anticipation, I couldn’t help but see the seeds of a story. Later, as he went through a friendship breakup, I remembered my own painful one, and the seeds were planted. Like Luchy and Cami, my friend and I had been BFFs since we were two, and like Luchy, I was ditched for the “cool” kids when she finally came to my school. As I thought about our middle school experiences three decades apart, I couldn’t help but reflect on the changes that come during this transition from elementary to middle school, especially when there’s a new school or when there’s a shift in personal circumstances. Slowly, as I wrote down what I was remembering and witnessing, from who-likes-whom and soccer tryouts to teachers and friendships, the ups and downs of Luchy and Cami’s relationship came into clear focus.

NOT COOL ENOUGH

The story touches on the idea of feeling “too immature” or “not cool enough.” How do you think this resonates with young readers, especially those navigating new social dynamics in middle school?

I think young readers are especially keen at feeling the push-pull that comes with growing up, and they’ll hopefully connect with Luchy, Cami, and Mateo’s journey because it’ll feel real to them. They, too, are juggling the desire to grow up with the fear of letting go of their childhood. As students move on to middle school and enter new social dynamics there, there’s a stronger urge to fit in. The fear of their peers perceiving them as “too immature” or “not cool enough” rises, in part because we have this innate desire to belong. And in showing three middle school characters who are “growing up” in different ways and at different rates, I’m hoping that young readers will recognize their own realities and know that it’s okay to grow up at your own pace.

On Diversity and Cultural Identity:

As a Colombian American author, how did your own experiences influence the way you portrayed

Luchy’s and Cami’s cultural backgrounds?

I knew early on that I wanted to explore the various ways we might connect to our culture, but specifically, the ways Colombian Americans might experience this part of their identity. Often, I write protagonists who share my cultural heritage, but as I dove into Luchy’s story, I decided both she and Cami would be Colombian American. It’s what would make their families connect, as often happens to those living in the diaspora. The city Luchy’s and Cami’s families come from is Manizales, my dad’s birthplace, and this part of the backstory was inspired by a real event, where I met someone as an adult who was from Manizales and who knew my uncle.

However, as I wrote, I discovered that despite their shared connection to the motherland, they experienced their identity quite differently, and this stemmed, in part, from comparing my own first-gen experience to my son’s second-gen one. In some ways, I’m most like Cami, having grown up speaking fluent Spanish and visiting Colombia often so there was never a question of whether I was truly Colombian—even if sometimes I didn’t feel enough of a Colombian because I wasn’t born there, a sentiment that Luchy feels keenly. My son, on the other hand, is more like Luchy; he doesn’t speak Spanish, but he still connects to this part of his culture in other ways, like through music, food, and soccer.

Incorporating Colmbian Culture into the Story

In what ways did you incorporate Colombian culture into the story, and how do you hope it will resonate with both Colombian American readers and those from different backgrounds?

I focused on including details that Luchy would’ve felt drawn to—like the food and fruit juices her abui makes, which are staples in many Colombian households, as well as the art and colors found in Colombia’s murals peppered throughout cities like Medellín and Cartagena. The murals described actually exist, and I was lucky to visit them during my last trip there. Luchy’s nickname for Mateo, Tigre, is also a nod toward Colombia’s Ramadel Falcao, a soccer star that she would’ve watched with her papi. In those moments, connected to those other elements of her identity as foodie, artist, and athlete, she would find that she’s not as far removed from her culture as she might think. Also, as a big fan of renowned Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez and magical realism, I left a few nuggets in Luchy’s art project, the one that ultimately leads to her epiphany about Colombia, and Mami’s scrapbooks and Luchy’s research take her to some beautiful and wonderous landscapes of Colombia. My hope is that those who are Colombian American might immediately recognize their own story in these pages while those from different backgrounds might discover a different story about Colombia and Colombian Americans.

Writing for Middle Graders:

One of the things I love about writing for this age group is just how much change happens in a few short years—physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually. Young readers are expanding their circles, figuring out who they are in relation to their families, their peers, and their communities. They’re learning what they love, and don’t love, and what they feel passionate about. It’s a wonderful time of transformation—of metamórfosis like Abui says. One of the recurring feedback I’ve been receiving about Luchy’s story is how real it is—and I love it! In these pages, I hope Luchy, Cami, and Mateo will become my readers’ friends, that in following Luchy in her attempts at salvaging her friendship with Cami, they might find hope that even if things don’t work out the way we want, it’ll still be okay. And hope, in the end, is what keeps us going.

Friendship

Friendship is such a key theme in the book. How did you approach writing the evolving dynamics between Luchy, Cami, and Mateo?

To discover and understand the evolving dynamics between Luchy, Cami, and Mateo, I did a lot of freewriting and brainstorming exercises from each of their different perspectives. I wanted characters who leapt off the page, who felt real and familiar and who each had their own struggles and conflicts, and to do that, I had to spend time with each character individually, separate from Luchy. I sat with the characters and got to know them, their families, their fears, and desires. The more time I spent with each character, the more I discovered what made them tick, what their vulnerabilities and strengths were—and this helped create the evolving dynamics between the three.

Take Away Message

If there’s one message you hope readers take away from Luchy’s story, what would it be?

That they are enough just the way they are, and that the way they experience their identity is valid and real. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

What’s Next?

Can you share what’s next for you as an author? Are there any new projects on the horizon?

Up next, I have a short story titled “Kaleidscope,” about a girl who emerges from grief and battles with fibromyalgia to discover how to love herself again, in the anthology All the Love Under the Vast Sky, a collection of short stories in verse surrounding the theme of love—look for it on January 14, 2025! I also have picture book coming in 2026 about an anxious girl nicknamed “Pajarito” and the nightly walks with her mami, as Pajarito wonders if she’ll ever feel brave enough to fly out on her own. Like with my current books, these two are also deeply inspired by my lived experiences, including my own journey with fibromyalgia.

Connect with Alexandra

You can connect with Alexandra and learn more about all her wonderful books here.