They Call Her Fregona by David Bowles brings up topics of Latinx and societal discrepancies with prose that keeps you coming back. The main character, Guero’s, girlfriend struggles with conflicts related to gender norms and the deportation of her family. Guero struggles with conflict related to how he will be a good boyfriend and how he will keep his friendships strong. This text is an important story of life in a border town from a voice that is rarely amplified. Hearing this story helps us to understand topics of judgment that readers might not have considered before. The use of verse as the main character’s journal entries makes this book an incredibly well-done piece. There are individual entries that are dedicated to characterization for supporting characters, there is a glossary in the back that helps the reader to access the name-calling, slights, and other Spanish terms that might otherwise go unknown. The prose has some elements of rhyme, but it isn’t overly used and helps to emphasize the importance of the topic the author is highlighting. Middle-grade readers will like the relationships and issues presented in the text. LGBTQ+ book fans will enjoy the seamless weaving in of societal topics related to gender norms and language. The representation of LGBTQ+ supporting characters confronts heteronormative literature.

Reviewed by a Washington Middle Show Teacher.