A delightful book about seventeen-year-old Rick Dresner who is spending the summer in Mexico working for friends helping to add to their home in a barrio.  He learns much about living in Mexico, improves his Spanish so he can have real-life conversations, experiences the cultural differences that create some tensions between him and the family, and becomes more understanding of poverty, people crossing the Mexican-U.S. border, how hard the work is, and the differences in hospitality and foods.   This book is excellent to go along with the study of the Spanish language and Mexican culture.