CANDLEWICK PRESS DISCUSSION GUIDE

In Meg Medina’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal winner,

Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of
friendship, family, love—and finding your rhythm.

About the Book

Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. Her
no-nonsense science teacher, Mr. Ellis, expects her to be as
smart as her brother, Roli. She’s been assigned to co-manage
the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she might
actually like . . . whatever that means. And she’s tangling
again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more
obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual
Heart Ball.

One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can’t dance—not

at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. The thought of dancing in
public makes her almost as queasy as love does, and Merci’s
been thinking about love more than she wants to, especially
now that Tía Inés seems to have a boyfriend. Merci used to
talk about everything with her grandfather Lolo, but with his
Alzheimer’s getting worse, who can help her make sense of all
the new things happening in her life?

The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about

HC: 978-0-7636-9050-2 growing up and discovering love’s many forms, including how
Also available as an e-book and in audio we learn to love and believe in ourselves.

MEG MEDINA is the 2019 person.” The recipient of a Pura Belpré Author Award
Newbery Medalist for Merci for her young adult novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick
Suárez Changes Gears. Of the Your Ass, Meg Medina is also the author of the novels
PHOTO BY SONYA SONES

sequel, she says, “I’m so excited Burn Baby Burn and The Girl Who Could Silence the
to bring my readers into the Wind and the picture books Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving
world of the Suárez family and Away; Mango, Abuela, and Me; and Tía Isa Wants a Car,
Seaward Pines once again. . . . for which she received an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer
New friends, new teachers, and Award. Meg Medina lives in Richmond, Virginia, with
new self-doubts. It’s been a thrill to write about all her family.
the zany things that the seventh grade can throw at a

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 CANDLEWICK PRESS DISCUSSION GUIDE
Discussion Questions

1. Now that Merci is in seventh grade, are the boys acting differently than they did last year? Why
is Merci not crazy about the idea of working with a boy in the school store? How does Wilson
Bellevue turn out to be unlike the other boys?

2. When Merci finds out that she and Wilson have to sell tickets to the school Valentine’s Day dance,
her heart sinks. She says, “Dancing is just not my jam” (page 14). Why else does she say she can’t
stand the Heart Ball? Do you think there are other reasons she might not want to go?

3. This is Merci’s first year on the school soccer team, and Papi doesn’t like to miss any of her games,
even though the team isn’t very good. Merci wonders if she should quit and just play with Papi’s
team, but Papi won’t let her quit—he says the Suárezes don’t stop trying when things are bad.
Where else in life do Merci and her family members apply this idea?

4. It’s been a year since Merci found out that her grandfather Lolo has Alzheimer’s. On his good days,
Merci plays dominos and other games with him, though it’s not as fun as it used to be. Other times,
Lolo thinks he sees things and becomes scared, and Merci feels afraid, too—of Lolo. Have you ever
felt like someone you know isn’t acting like themselves? What do you think it’s like for Merci to
continue spending time with Lolo even when she doesn’t know how he will be from day to day?

5. When Tía Inés has to work late and tells the family to eat without her, Mami still holds dinner until
Tía gets home. And when Lolo says to start eating and not wait for him to get to the table with his
walker, everyone sits quietly until he is seated, including the rowdy twins. Why do the Suárezes
have this tradition? What does it say about them as a family?

6. This year, Lena and Hannah are helping Merci with her “Edna skills” to try to keep her from
arguing with her former nemesis, Edna Santos. Merci and Edna were supposed to have a truce,
but Edna’s attitude and insults still drive Merci crazy. Do you think Merci is right to be hurt that
her friends seem to like Edna? How does Merci contribute to the problems between her and Edna?
Have you ever had to mediate between two people who aren’t getting along?

7. After a long day at work, Tía forgets to give Merci the money for Axel’s tooth, so Merci uses her
own money, which she was saving to spend on a bobblehead at school. “But that’s how it is,” she
says. “There’s no use complaining to anyone around here about it. ‘Be satisfied with what you have,
which is plenty,’ Abuela always says” (page 75). What do you think Abuela means by this? Why do
you think Merci decides to use her own money for Axel’s tooth?

8. When Tía takes a day off from work even though she’s not sick, Mami points out that people can
feel “sick in spirit” sometimes and asks Merci if that ever happens to her. Merci wants to respond
“every day,” but she only shrugs because, she says, Mami is “prying” (page 93). What does it mean
to feel “sick in spirit”? Why do you think Merci doesn’t want to share her feelings with Mami?

9. When Merci goes to the secondhand store to sell her outgrown clothes, Tía encourages her to pick
out an outfit for herself, but Merci is reluctant. Her rich classmates have “made it cool to wear
ugly plaid pants that belonged to somebody’s grandpa” (page 102), but Merci thinks that wearing
secondhand clothes wouldn’t be considered such a cool look in her case. Why is that? Do you think
she’s right?

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10. Merci comes across as pretty confident, but throughout the story she struggles with feelings of
Discussion Questions

jealousy—about her friend Hannah helping Edna with the Heart Ball instead of hanging out with
her, about Tía spending time with Simón, even about the twins playing a silly monster game with
Papi. Why do you think these feelings come up? What would make her feel better?

11. Kissing is on Merci’s mind a lot these days—she both wonders what it’s like and feels repelled at the
thought of someone doing it. Mami once told Merci that one day, when she’s grown, romantic love
will no longer seem terrible at all. “Now I’m finding out that ‘one day’ doesn’t arrive all at once,”
says Merci. “It creeps up on you a little bit at a time, like a skilled assassin” (page 132). In what
ways are Merci’s mixed feelings about things like kissing becoming more apparent? Why do you
think they are changing?

12. When the photo equipment breaks after the dance, Merci stuffs it back in the case in “a blind
panic” with Wilson watching (pages 178–179). Then she hides at home, abandoning Hannah and
avoiding Edna’s wrath. What do you think of the way Merci handled this situation? What do you
think Wilson thinks about what she did? What would you have done if you were Merci, and why?

13. When Merci finally faces the music about the Heart Ball incident, Miss McDaniels says she is
shocked and saddened because Merci is one of the school’s most responsible and honest students.
“I’m sick of being responsible,” Merci wants to yell. “Sometimes it’s too hard” (pages 223–224). What
has been happening in Merci’s life to make her feel this way? Have you ever felt like things were
“too hard” in your life or that you had too many responsibilities?

14. After Merci consoles Edna in the bathroom, Edna asks Merci in Spanish about merengue dancing
at Tía’s school. Merci is shocked, because they never speak Spanish together, even though it’s one
thing they have in common. Why do you think Edna decides to speak to Merci in Spanish and
stand up to Jason Aldrich when he puts on a fake accent? How do you think Merci and Edna felt
when Jason was talking that way? Why does Miss McDaniels decide to showcase the Suárez School
of Latin Dance at the One World celebration?

15. The title of the book declares that Merci Suárez can’t dance. Yet at the end, Merci is onstage in full
costume, dancing—and enjoying it. What happened to change Merci’s feelings about dancing? Have
you ever changed your mind about something or done something you were afraid to do?

Bonus Classroom Ideas!

Merci Suárez Can’t Dance is the sequel to the Newbery Medal winner Merci Suárez Changes Gears.
Read both books and have your students compare them. How does Merci’s life change between the two
books? What differences do they find in Merci? In other characters? What other comparisons between
the two novels can your students make?

Meg Medina has written books for many ages. Learn more about her as a class by reading about her
online and reading some of her other books. Consider themes in Meg Medina’s real life that find their
way into her books.

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