Vega's Piece of the Sky
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The space rock is just the latest thing to land, uninvited, in Vega Lucero’s road-stop hometown. But when she discovers how much a chunk of the meteorite might be worth, she realizes it’s exactly the treasure she’s been hoping to find—and maybe a way to convince her mom not to sell the family store to big city developers to help pay for her grandpa Tata's medical expenses.
Determined to find more pieces of the sky somewhere in the perilous desert wilderness, stubbornly independent Vega must set aside her distrust of outsiders to team up with Jasper, a would-be rival—and her own tagalong cousin Mila—on an overnight adventure to find more meteorites before the professional hunters who have descended on Date City do. But along the way, she realizes that she's not the only one with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Jasper and Mila have secrets and worries of their own that has brought them on this journey.
Together, this ragtag group will battle against coyotes, a flood, and scorpions. But what they will ultimately discover is that no treasure is big enough to prevent unwelcome change. Only family and friends can help weather the unexpected that life brings.
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"Captivating...very entertaining."Booklist
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"The fast-paced read is a classic summer coming-of-age story with plenty of adventure and heart. As in all good quests, the story’s true treasures are the relationships formed along the way."Kirkus Reviews
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"Here readers find well-developed characters with distinct voices and a tightly paced, fast-moving plot that harmoniously blend into a heartwarming, energetic novel."School Library Journal
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Praise for Stef Soto, Taco Queen:
"The core of the story—friendship and the importance of family—wins out, leaving tweens with a satisfying, gentle read." —School Library Journal
"[A] well written novel about family and pride and would be a great addition to the library." —School Library Connection
"[An] engaging glimpse of food-truck culture through the Soto family's sacrifices, values, and hardships. Once readers get past the drama, they'll cheer for Stef Soto, her family, and Tia Perla." —Kirkus Reviews
"This cheery, relatable story features short and sweet chapters with plenty of Spanish words and phrases sprinkled in and a cheer-worthy main character in Stef, a happy, funny girl who adores art above all." —Booklist
"Young readers will feel a kinship with Stef as she struggles to spread her wings in this engaging and relatable middle-grade novel about growing up." —Horn Book
"The bones of this polished debut are familiar...but Torres fleshes them out with authenticity, humor, and heart. Stef's fresh, honest voice will resonate with a broad swath of readers, as will the relatable struggles she negotiates." —Publishers Weekly
"Spanish words and humorous banter pepper the dialogue, and the dual stories of the threatened family business and Stef's issues with classmates make a nice, age-appropriate balance that validates Stef's experience while pointing to a world beyond middle school politics. Readers will be happy to snack on this." —The Bulletin
- On Sale
- Jun 11, 2024
- Page Count
- 240 pages
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- ISBN-13
- 9780316534239
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Book Club Guide
- Vega’s Piece of the Sky is told from Vega’s first-person perspective, as well as Mila and Jasper’s third-person perspectives. How does having these three different perspectives shape your understanding of the story? Which character did you most relate to?
- Why are Vega and Jasper so desperate to find the meteorite?
- What do you think the meteorite—a rock that has come to earth from space—represents to the three main characters?
- Mila and Jasper make an agreement that whoever sees the meteorite first gets to keep it. Is that fair? How does this agreement affect how they work together as a team?
- How does Mila and Vega’s relationship change as they hunt for the meteorite?
- Mila loves looking at stars and reading about astronomy. How does this interest help her and Vega find their way back to the trail?
- Vega is very close with Tata, but she knows that after his fall, he isn’t the same as he was before. How is she handling this change?
- In chapter 24, we discover that Jasper did something to help Vega, even though it could potentially upset his father. What did Jasper do and why do you think he did it?
- How does Jasper’s relationship with his father change throughout the book?
- Why do you think this book is called Vega’s Piece of the Sky?
