By Dauda, Catholic Partnership Schools Healthy Courier

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
By Pablo Cartaya 

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is an engaging story that follows the life of Arturo Zamora. Written by Pablo Cartaya, the book delves deep into themes of community, activism, and arguably, most importantly, family. 

Arturo lives in a close Cuban-American community in Miami, where he navigates through adolescence while fighting the redevelopment of his local area that changed the character of his local neighborhood. The book is written from the perspective of a Latino-American kid, giving it a tinge of humor and hardship. 

One of the novel’s main conflicts is that Arturo’s family restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla, is at risk of being demolished and replaced with a high-rise building. As Arturo learns about his family’s history and the struggles they had to get where they are, he’s determined to prevent this from happening. 

Not only is this an important lesson for older readers, but especially important for a younger audience, who still has to learn not to give in easily. Through Arturo’s journey, we learn that speaking out at the right moment can push us further ahead rather than back. 

Overall, I found author Cartaya’s writing style engaging and accessible, not too hard for younger readers to understand but also not too simple for an older audience to be entertained by. The characters undergo meaningful transformations, too, while touching on social issues many children who live in minority communities can understand. This author’s work is just right for young readers ages 10 to 12. I would most definitely recommend this book to any teacher, especially if the class lives in a community full of rich culture and history.