Saturday Morning Cartoons- Halfway to Somewhere

Pimienta, Jose. Halfway to Somewhere

February 18, 2025 by Random House Graphic

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ave, whose is twelve and nonbinary, and nine-year-old brother Ramón have moved from Mexicali, Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas so that their mother can take a job at Kansas University in the language department. Because of immigration issues, their father and older sister, Cruz, stay behind in Mexico. Ave's English isn't as smooth as they would like, but they are leery of talking to too many people. While Ramón immediately makes friends with Tom across the street, Ave doesn't even want to talk to the son of one of the mother's colleagues because he is Latine but doesn't speak Spanish, which is hard to udnerstand. Instead, Ave likes to walk around the town, go to comics stores, and gets to know the neighborhood, although the mother doesn't much care for this wandering. When school starts, Ave makes some friends who are from various Latine backgrounds, which gives Ave an intersesting perspective on the array of experiences Latin people in the US have. While Ave talks to Cruz frequently, Ave doesn't quite understand that the father will not be coming to the US, nor will Cruz, in part because the parents are separating. Ave spends a lot of time reminiscing about a family hike to Casa de Piedra, and would like to return home and have the family be intact, but by the end of the book realizes that this will not happen. 

Strengths: Ave finds connection with friends at school when the other kids realize that they all love running, and it was interesting to see Ave take comfort in this when life was difficult. The discussions about the different backgrounds was interesting, and I'd never really though about how second generation Mexican-American students might feel about kids who are new arrivals. Many children have to deal with parents who are divorcing, but when these parents are left behind in other countries, it becomes an even greater loss. I was glad that Ave was able to video chat with Cruz. This was a thought provoking graphic novel about identity. 
Weaknesses: This moved somewhat slowly because of the introspective nature of the plotline. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want to explore a range of Latine experiences and enjoyed books like Fajardo's Miss Quinces, Martin's Mexikid, or Mercado's Chunky, and also had a similar vibe to Cohen's Two Tribes.