August 25, 2026 by Random House Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Gustavo is devastated that he has to leave his family, especially his father, in Puerto Rico when his mother takes a job in Montana at Yellowstone National Park. In addition to missing family, he struggles with anxiety that his family treats as inconsequential, and is petrified of the variety of wild animals in his new home. His sister Lorena doesn’t seem to mind, and his mother is very excited about her new job. Gardiner, where he attends school, is small, but the kids at school are nice. He meets Kordell, a Black student, who has been showing up in his dreams. He is also part of the Bison Brigade conservation and survival group that Gustavo joins because his father is hoping that time in Montana will help him “man up” and not suffer from “chapines” (a feeling like there are fish in his stomach). Gustavo like the leader of the group, Ranger Rob, who says that the group is a safe space and doesn’t seem to mind when he has to wear women’s hiking boots because he has narrow feet, a BIG change from the way Gustavo’s family approaches matters. Gustavo is asked to play Dungeons and Dragons with a group from school, which is helpful since he misses his friends in Puerto Rico, with whom he plays video games. As Gustavo’s dreams start to intersect more with Kordell’s, he learns that their family situations are similar, with their parents being separated and Kordell struggling with depression, but also learns that his mother has taken Kordell’s mother’s job. While this causes a rift, the boys are able to work through their differences, and Gustavo is emboldened to tell his parents that he needs to be in therapy.
Strengths: Gustavo’s longing for Puerto Rico (which is much warmer than Montana) and the inclusion of a lot of Spanish phrases will be appreciated by students who either are experiencing homesickness, or want to understand classmates who are. The Yellowstone setting is intriguing. There is a bit of magical realism, as Gustavo had a great grandmother who was “sensitive” and had some experiences with dreams. The chapters from Kordell’s point of view are in verse. The stress over parents separating and divorcing is not addressed in middle grade literature enough, and seeing how both boys handle their situations differently is instructive. The author’s note addresses the state of mental health challenges facing Latine students, and there are a lot of positive examples of tweens talking through problems and advocating for themselves. It was good to see that there were some positive experiences in Montana, and Gustavo was willing to split his year between Montana and his father in Puerto Rico after his father faced his own toxic masculinity.
Weaknesses: When I described this book to my daughter, she agreed that moving to Yellowstone National Park would be very cool, and most middle school students would embrace this experience with a lot more positivity! I would rather have seen more information about this very cool area of the world, and seen Gustavo have amazing adventures there.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked or have enjoyed books about children navigating mental health issues like Stout’s Making Plans for Nigel Binty, Lumsden’s and Pieplow’s Confessions of a Mango, LaRocca’s Mirror to Mirror, Lerner’s A Work in Progress, Baron’s The Gray, Pyron’s Octopus Moon, or Piontek’s Better With Butter, or Arango’s other works, It’s All or Nothing or Something Like Home. There are so many books about children working through mental health issues, but the books I have on the topic do not circulate well.
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