Review: Sliding Home

Title: Sliding Home
Author: Joyce Grant
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Lorimer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 1, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Miguel hasn’t missed El Salvador since arriving in North America with his mother and sister. But with his father still in El Salvador and gangs shaking down the old neighborhood, life isn’t easy for Miguel.

When his father’s situation becomes critical, Miguel becomes desperate to bring him to North America. But he can’t even afford to join his baseball team on a road game–how can his family possibly pay his father’s way? A solution comes from Miguel’s teammate, who proposes a big baseball fundraiser. As the team learns about the hard realities some new immigrant kids face, Miguel and his family learn to trust their neighbors and teammates.

Review:

Three years ago, Miguel moved to Canada from El Salvador with his mother and sister. His father remained in El Salvador, looking after their bakery, but he is constantly terrorized by gangs. Thirteen-year-old Miguel has to work as a babysitter to help support his family. He plays baseball with a local team, but he’s constantly reminded of how much less his family has when his teammates get new equipment and are able to afford to go to an out-of-town tournament. Miguel has to find a way to bring his father to Canada, which may mean opening up to his teammates about his problems.

This is a great baseball story. Though it was mostly about Miguel playing baseball, there were some important issues addressed. Miguel had to work, which his friends and teammates didn’t understand. He was constantly worried about his father and had to help his mother figure out how to bring his dad to Canada. Miguel had to deal with a lot of adult issues that his friends never thought about before Miguel told them about his life.

Sliding Home is a great short middle grade novel! Be sure to look out for Joyce Grant’s upcoming book about spotting fake news for young readers, which is releasing later this year.

Thank you Lorimer Books for providing a copy of this book.

What to read next:

Have you read Sliding Home? What did you think of it?