The Gumazing Gum Girl! Popped Star by Rhode Montijo with Luke Reynolds,
The Gumazing Gum Girl! Popped Star by Rhode Montijo with Luke Reynolds is here! And it smells like gum, sugar-free sour apple, to be exact! The Gumazing Gum Girl, aka Gabby Gomez, still hasn't revealed her secret identity to her parents, she has a cavity from all her gum chewing AND there is a new superhero in town!
Last year, I reviewed the first two books in The Gumazing Gum Girl trilogy, noting that these books are PERFECT for my students, the majority of whom are Latinx, and many of them English language learners reading below grade level. It is fantastic for them to read a book with a Latina main character and Spanish words and phrases peppered throughout. And, as I also noted, what I love most about Gabby is her conscience. In the first two books, she struggles with the fact that, to become the Gumazing Gum Girl, she has to chew gum, which her mother has (wisely, after Gabby fell asleep with gum in her mouth and woke up covered in it) banned her from chewing gum. And, since her papi is a dentist, she knows very well that the sugar from the gum is damaging her teeth. As book three, The Gumazing Gum Gir! Popped Star begins, Gabby is on her way to get her cavity filled - and tell her papi that she IS the Gumazing Gum Girl.
Thinking she has revealed her secret to her papi, when really he had no idea what she was saying when her mouth was numb, Gabby tackles her next challenge - catching up with her school work by writing and essay about what it means to be a hero. To top it off, Gabby's little brother Rico is entranced by the newest hero in town, Ninja-Rina, a masked ballerina with mad ninja skills! Things seem to be looking up when Gabby picks a new, sugar free gum (the sour apple flavor is the reason for the cool green color that Gum Girl takes on) and discovers that Ninja-Rina's super saves have all been set ups, arranged by her stage-mom of a mother.
But, when Gum Girl finds herself on stage at the town carnival with Ninja-Rina, police Chief Yee offer the key to the city to both of them, she's not sure she can shake hands with a fake. Soon, there is a bigger decision she has to make - how to save her family and all the other passengers on the faltering Ferris wheel. Gum Girl makes the right, if surprising, decision and, after a few suspenseful pages, saves the day and reveals her true identity to her family! She also manages to write a meaningful essay about what it means to be a hero that closes out this sweet and sweet smelling book!
Source: Review Copy
