The lyrical middle-grade novel-in-verse A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila (Barrio Rising) is based on the true story of the Lemon Grove Incident, when a boy and his California community fought against the forced segregation of Mexican students during the Great Depression. This National Book Award longlisted title is both a history lesson and a spotlight on a century of advocacy by the Latino community in the United States.
Twelve-year-old Roberto Alvarez is "el futuro" for his family of Mexican Revolution refugees. Roberto and his friends go to Lemon Grove Grammar School across Main Street; there the colonia where he lives "becomes the neighborhood/ holas become hellos." After winter break, the principal informs Roberto and all the other Mexican American students that they must attend a new school in an old barn closer to their side of town. Roberto's family--and eventually the entire community--rallies to raise funds and take legal action, with Roberto as the lead codefendant against the Lemon Grove school board. Despite eventual victory, much is lost. While some students are expelled and charged with truancy, whole families are forcibly deported during what is known as the era of Mexican Repatriation.
Águila's poetry in her first middle-grade novel is deft as she depicts bravery, cultural celebration, and the power of neighbors coming together: "The houses in la colonia/ are like patches,/ each one different/ but sewn together/ into a community." A Sea of Lemon Trees is flawlessly paced and full of lyrical pathos; a strangely sweet novel with a bitter aftertaste. --Luis G. Rendon