Pablo Cartaya’s The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is a Perfect Summer Read
Pablo Cartaya’s debut middle grade novel The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora introduces the charming voice of Arturo Zamora, a thirteen-year-old boy growing up in a tightknit neighborhood in Miami. His life revolves around family, friends, and the food of his family’s restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla. Arturo’s beloved grandparents founded the restaurant after emigrating from Cuba, and Abuela still holds court there each day, greeting customers and joining them at their tables. Arturo’s grandfather passed away, but he lives on through the box of letters he’s left Arturo, full of reminiscences, poetry, and life advice. Abuela gives Arturo the letters that fateful summer.
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
Hardcover $17.99
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
In Stock Online
Hardcover $17.99
As the novel opens, summer is kicking off with one of the Zamora family’s regular Sunday dinners. As Arturo explains, “Summer meant hanging out, swinging on banyan trees, looking for manatees in the canals throughout Canal Grove, eating churros (because let’s be real: those deep-fried sugary sticks are all kinds of delicious), listening to music, and jumping around in Bren’s bounce house.”
As the novel opens, summer is kicking off with one of the Zamora family’s regular Sunday dinners. As Arturo explains, “Summer meant hanging out, swinging on banyan trees, looking for manatees in the canals throughout Canal Grove, eating churros (because let’s be real: those deep-fried sugary sticks are all kinds of delicious), listening to music, and jumping around in Bren’s bounce house.”
But this summer won’t be so laid back for Arturo. Everyone in the family works at the restaurant, including Arturo’s mom, a celebrated chef. This summer Arturo has been promoted to junior lunchtime dishwasher, which means he has to contend with El Monstruo, the imposing dishwasher about which his cousin says, “Mess with it. And it will eat you.”
And Arturo can’t understand why his stomach flip-flops every time he sees Carmen, the beautiful daughter of his mother’s best friend who is visiting from Spain.
The Zamora family submits a request to expand their restaurant into the adjacent lot, but learn a shady developer has designs on the same parcel. The developer opens an office in the neighborhood and begins to tout his plan to build a luxury high rise next to the Zamoras’ restaurant. Carmen and Arturo team up on a sleuth mission and discover that the developer’s plans don’t include the preservation of the restaurant. Meanwhile, Abuela’s health begins to falter.
As the summer unfolds, Arturo and his family fight to remind their neighbors of the importance of their restaurant to the community while the developer plies them with gifts and a showdown at a city council meeting looms.
This funny, lively novel captures a swirl of striking characters, including Bren, Arturo’s friend who idolizes the rapper Pitbull so much he quotes him constantly, Vanessa, Arturo’s honor student cousin who organizes a band of young leaders, and an overwhelmed uncle who’s the stay-at-home dad to two sets of twins.
Arturo’s family sprinkles Spanish into their conversation, so this will be a great book for any bilingual kid—or one with an interest in the language. Cartaya weaves in references to Cuban poet José Martí, the favorite writer of Carmen and Abuela, grounding the Zamoras’ story in a sense of history and pride. Tidbits about life growing up in Miami, including the fact that manatees will drink fresh water from hoses, make this novel a refreshing immersion into a vibrant culture.
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is a summer reading hit that will endear readers of many ages.