“No one can see it, but I’m sparkling.”

The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel is a well-written middle-grade story about a young girl, Quijana Carrillo, and her adolescent struggles that are both universal and unique. Quijana is twelve, and she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. At least, that is how it feels to her. Growing up in a multi-cultural family, Quijana never learned to speak Spanish, her father’s native language, and now she feels isolated, embarrassed, and angry when visiting family and during Spanish class. Is she Latina? Is she Caucasian? Can she be both? She is at war in her own skin. Her parents don’t understand her, and her three-year old brother, Memito, is regressing instead of progressing. What’s more, Quijana has a crush on a new friend, Jayden. But will he ever feel the same for her? Being a seventh grader is hard.

The Other Half of Happy is the perfect story for any middle-grade reader, but it’s a good story for adults, too. Children Quiijana’s age must navigate their transitioning self-awareness, their changing feelings about friends and family, and their budding talents and increasing autonomy. The added uncertainties about cultural identity and acceptance throw Quijana off kilter, but her Grandma Miller is always ready to Skype with her and text message some pretty sage advice. 

This story has a lot of emotional highs and lows, but it is always entertaining and interesting. When her parents plan a trip to Guatemala to visit family over Christmas break, Quijana is determined to skip the humiliation of being surrounded by family she can’t understand and instead ride the bus from Texas to Florida and stay with her Grandma Miller. This secret plan and Quijana’s antics to make it happen drive the story forward, and any adult reader will both cringe at the implications of such a journey and smile at this twelve-year-old’s audacity and determination.

The Other Half of Happy does not water down Quijana’s internal conflict and emotional roller coaster ride. She is both selfishly self-centered and compassionate. She is both embarrassed by her family and gripped with love for them. She is the big sister and often left alone with her little brother, but she is still a child who wants to be heard and understood. She is fiercely courageous and easily crushed. Rebecca Balcárcel captures these all too familiar dualities with ease, honesty, a little laughter, and a few tears.

Through Quijana Carrillo’s point of view, Rebecca Balcárcel presents an expressive and melodic story that is recognizable and heartbreaking, humbling and triumphant, and explosive and tender. 

Rebecca is a bi-cultural Latina who loves her autistic sons, her kitty, and serving the students of Tarrant County College as Associate Professor of English. She holds an MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars, where she was awarded the Jane Kenton Poetry Prize. THE OTHER HALF OF HAPPY is her debut novel.