Becoming+Naomi+Leon

//Becoming Naomi Leon// is about two kids, Naomi and Owen, whose parents left them with their great-grandmother when they were very little. In the beginning of the book, the children have never met their parents. The parents got divorced and moved to different places. One day when Gram (the great-grandmother) and the two kids were at home, someone comes to their house and starts hugging the children. The children have no idea who she is. Gram tells them that it is their mother, Skyla. Skyla has a boyfriend Clive who gets them anything they want. Skyla stays in Lemon Tree (their hometown) for only two weeks and wants Naomi to go with her to Las Vegas. Naomi doesn't want to because she does not like her. Skyla slaps Naomi, which makes Naomi dislike her even more. Skyla does not want to take Owen because he has a disability. Gram, the kids, and their good friends, go to Mexico to find the children's father. Santiago's (the father) hobby is soap carving, radish carving, and wood carving. That is Naomi's hobby too. They find him at the carving festival in Mexico and talk to him about the children living with Santiago and not Skyla. Santiago tells them that he will visit them and tells the children to stay brave. They go back home, and Skyla takes them to court. Naomi speaks up at court and the judge decides to have the children live with Gram. And every Christmas Naomi, Owen, and Gram go to Mexico and enter in the carving contest with their father.

I learned that in this culture, family is very important. They treasure it and make sure children are treated well. One big hobby is soap or raddish carving. They make animals or anything they want to. Once a year Mexico has a Raddish Carving Festival. The Hispanic culture believes in luck, such as if they see a big spider you should not kill it because it is good luck. -Kaira I learned many things about Mexican culture. At every Christmas, the people of Oaxaca carve radishes and enter them in a contest. They also smash pottery against a church for good luck in the new year. Also you shouldn't kill spiders because they are good luck too. They eat different food like tortillas, and other things like that. And mostly all the streets are made of cobblestone. -Abbey

I would definitely recommend this book. It is one of the best books I have ever read! I thought that almost every multicultural book was boring, but this book is AMAZING for a multicultural book. I think this book is unique and very cool. I like their unique cultures. I like it that they treasure their families. Best book EVER!-Kaira

I really like this book. I would recommend it to anyone. It has such a good lesson on being brave and being a family. I thought the characters were really unique, especially Skyla. I think each character had more than one side to them. I liked how I got to learn a few more things about Mexico. This book has a sort of mystery feel to it, so it's a bit suspenseful and it will keep you reading. This book is a fast read, so it's a good read for anyone. -Abbey

I learned a lot about the way things work in the Mexican culture by reading this book. It describes the holidays, city life, and nature of the people in Mexico. There is a lot of beautiful art and amazing creations and they have very unique traditions. Things like imitating the night Mary and Joseph were turned away from the in by walking the streets with lights in hand, or the annual radish carving festival. The people there are also very close and treat others like a big family and are very religious. Mexico sounds like a very fascinating place.-Anika

I liked this book a lot. I typically like action stories better, but this book was good too. I really felt sad when Skyla was being so horrible to her children. I also appreciate that the author gave enough detail to picture what was going on without giving too much. I would probably recommend this to a girl, but I think a guy would like it okay too.