Fourteen-year-old Alumdena gets dropped off by her white mother at the fixer-upper house of her
Guatemalan father in Brooklyn, so her mom can take a vacation, in the graphic novel, “Brownstone” (Versify 2024) by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia. Alumdena’s father, Xavier, seems happy to see her, but she doesn’t even know him. The house is a dump, he speaks rapid-fire Spanish, a language she doesn’t know, and he expects her to help fix the house.
The teen hears her father saying “Spanish sounding stuff,” but then she gets to slam a crowbar into the wall to tear off the plaster down to the brick. Maybe this won’t be completely bad, after all. She learns the word “bonito” and “cuidoso.” She’s left alone in the basement, but Isolda comes to the rescue to translate and offer information about her Guatemalan heritage. Our teen, about to turn fifteen, isn’t interested. And Isolda seems a little too close to her father.
After sleeping on the floor, Almudena, hungry, finds no food in the refrigerator. She makes her way to the bodega and buys donuts, gives one to the homeless guy, and dodges a crazy man on the street. Lorena brings by chile relleno for breakfast.
Emotions fly. Dad is angry that she went out on her own, the two grown women are jealous of each other. But everyone is kind and warm to Alumdena. Still, she quips, “Helloooo? Child with power tools here?” It’s hard not to like Alumdena.
She and her dad laugh over their body odor. Our girl goes to the laundromat and burns all of their clothes in the dryer. Practically all the players turn out to be related, including the bodega man. It’s like one big family. But now she has to wear a hand-me-down dress. A dress?!
Alumdena repurposes the dress and everything else they’ve given her, to make a scrappy but hip fashion statement. They name her “Off-Brand,” she continues to grimace, but maybe a little less so. It turns out Xavier helps everyone in the hood and is fixing this building to offer affordable housing for their community.
Gradually Alumdena, with the neighbors’ help and encouragement learns more and more Spanish, as more and more Spanish appears in the speech bubbles. She allows the group to dress her in a yellow gown for her quinceañera, her 15th birthday and coming-of-age party. We are all falling in love with this Hispanic community. And just before her mother returns at the end of the summer we hear the story of Alumdena’s origin. It’s a good one.
They will all become an extended family including the crazy man on the street, who rescues Alumdena when she gets lost.
This is a must-read, feel-good (eventually) coming-of-age story and the winner of the prestigious 2025 Printz Award.
Patricia Hruby Powell is the author of the award-winning books: Josephine; Lift As You Climb; Loving vs Virginia; and Struttin’With Some Barbecue all signed and for sale at Jane Addams bookstore. Her forthcoming books are about women’s suffrage, Martha Graham, and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as waterfowl. talesforallages.com
