Crushing: Pedro Martín & Huda Fahmy

In Pedro Martín’s incredible graphic memoir Mexikid, we are thrown into the world of seven year-old Pedro and his experience picking strawberries with his families during the weekends and summers. Pedro just wants to live the life of the other kids; spending time at the beach and watching cartoons, not spending hours in the sun picking strawberries worried about the threat of immigration control. When his older brother finds a job outside of the farm, Pedro is inspired to do the same, but first learns about the sacrifices his parents made to provide for the family. In Huda Fahmy’s graphic novel, Huda is about to graduate high school and cannot wait to the live the life she has always dreamed of. She soon realizes that the plan she and her friends have developed over the years may need to change in order to find a true happily ever after. Aron Nels Steinke will moderate this discussion between these two incredible graphic novelists.  

About Mexikid Dreams:

In this extraordinary graphic memoir companion to Newbery Honor winner Mexikid, hilarious family hijinks, immigration patrols, and musical daydreams shape a year of growth and change for a Mexican-American boy and his family.

Pedro Martín is sick of strawberries. Since he was seven, he’s spent every weekend and summer picking berries with his family under the hot sun. Sometimes it’s not so bad—Pedro’s an ace at “strawberry wars” with his siblings, and when a good song comes on the radio, the fields can come alive with music. But mostly, Pedro wishes he could just stay home watching Saturday cartoons, head to the beach like other kids, and not worry about immigration patrols. When his older brother gets a job away from the farm, freedom suddenly seems within arm’s reach: Pedro just has to prove to his dad that he’s ready to follow a different path! Maybe he can be a trombone player, or a cartoonist—if that’s even a real job. But as Pedro learns more about his parents’ and abuelito’s past, and the choices they made in order to open up more choices for him, he starts to understand that freedom isn’t just about leaving the fields—it’s about knowing where you came from and having the courage to draw your own life.

About Huda F Would Love You?:

In this funny and tender finale to the Huda F series, Huda has a plan to find love—but she might need to find herself first!

It’s the summer after Huda’s high school graduation, and love is in the air! Or it’s about to be, anyway. Because Huda has the ingredients for a perfect love story: a butt-kicking girl power squad of new friends, and a plan to woo all the aunties into setting her up with their eligible sons. But when she finds herself caught between her friends and her heart, gender roles and ambitions, and her fears and dreams, Huda begins to realize that finding her own “happily ever after” might require changing herself—or her expectations.