They Call Her Fregona
A Border Kid's Poems
257 pages · Released Aug 29, 2023 · Penguin
Content report card
They Call Her Fregona parent’s guide: what’s inside
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This poetic coming-of-age novel centers on first love, friendship, and supporting others through hardship, with themes relevant to middle and early high school readers. The content is generally age-appropriate for this audience, with mild language and references, a school bully situation, and an unspecified tragedy that creates emotional weight without graphic detail. The book models empathy, loyalty, and showing up for loved ones, making it a strong choice for older elementary and middle-grade readers ready for emotional complexity.
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From the publisher
A companion to the Pura Belpré Honor book They Call Me Güero “You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her... A companion to the Pura Belpré Honor book They Call Me Güero “You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she’s tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love. Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.
Shelved under
- Juvenile Fiction
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ISBN 9780593462584 · Penguin