Tumble

Tumble
Celia C. Perez
Penguin/Kokila, 2022
352 Pages
Grades 5-8
Realistic Fiction

Adela (Addie) has a typical life in her small New Mexico town. She helps her stepfather, the only father she has ever known, in the family diner. Paleontologist Mom is pregnant, which is exciting. When Stepdad Alex offers to formally adopt Addie, she is torn. She knows nothing about her biological father and her mom won't talk about him. Along with her best friend, Addie begins to dig for information, leading her to answers at the local historical society. She discovers that her father is a local legend. He is a professional wrestler named "Manny the Mountain" and is a member of the famous wrestling Bravo family of local legend. After much discussion with Mom and Alex, Addie finally meets Manny, as well as her whole, crazy wrestling family. Manny is now wrestling as a masked "bad guy", but has big plans for a come-back. Does Addie fit in with those plans? Meanwhile, Addie finds herself part of the cast of the yearly school performance of The Nutcracker. The seventh graders can customize the play however they see fit. Addie is inspired by her new family to suggest a bold direction. Will the other kids go for it? And if they do, will the Bravos (especially Manny) support the scheme?

I am a big fan of Celia Perez.  I love how she writes very readable and relatable middle grade fiction featuring Latino characters and making the culture an interictal part of the story without making it the only focus of the book. I grew up with two wrestling fanatic brothers and highly enjoyed seeing the honest representation in a book aimed at some of the sport's biggest fans. Readers learn about profession wrestling, all while traveling with Addie on her journey to connect with family, figure out her identity and her place within this new configuration. Addie also struggles with confidence and real friendship situations. Kids with non-traditional families will relate to this protagonist and everyone who went through seventh grade will see themselves in her struggles. The New Mexico setting is fully realized and serves as an important backdrop to the story. Most secondary characters are developed and experience growth. I would have liked to have seen more development of best friend, Cy, but that's nit-picky. Both boys and girls will enjoy this story and the wrestling angle will help encourage boys to read a story featuring a female protagonist. A great book about coming of age, families, friendship, and feminism, all with a tantalizing hook to attract the target audience.