Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish

Marcus lives with his mom and younger brother who has Down syndrome and they struggle to make ends meet since Marcus’ father abandoned them. Marcus is much bigger than other eighth graders and devises a money-making plan to protect kids picked on by the school bully, but when the bully taunts Marcus about his brother, Marcus punches him and is expelled. The family heads to Puerto Rico for a break and Marcus is eager to find his father and although he learns a lot about his heritage he also must face a hard truth. This novel deals with themes of single parent families, bullying, self-discovery, family heritage, and identity and is suitable for a literature circle or independent novel, or whole class read-aloud.