Module 5: The Tequila Worm

Canales, V. (2005). The tequila worm. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Summary: Sofia grows up in McAllen, Texas with her Catholic Hispanic family, including her younger sister Lucy, her parents, cousins and many other extended family members and friends. As she grows, she is inspired by books and her studies to learn about the life outside of her small town. When she gets the opportunity to go to a boarding school in Austin, Texas, she must find balance between her pursuit of knowledge and her connection to family.

Response: I have mixed feelings about this book only because I felt like the perspective of the main character, Sofia, lacked self-understanding. At times I felt like the conversations that she had and her responses to what her family would say to her were portrayed in a condescending manner. This made it difficult for me to connect with her experiences throughout the book. What did really bring me into the book were the vivid descriptions of her world- from the details of her Tia’s makeup and giant storytelling bag, to the slow and thorough process of her and her father cleaning and cooking beans. These moments were captivating and made me feel as if I was right there witnessing everything.

Reviews:

The Tequila Worm

VIOLA CANALES. Random/Lamb

(202p) ISBN 0-385-74674-1

This tender first novel suffers somewhat from an awkward structure. Narrator Sofia, whose life story hews closely to the author's own Texas barrio-to-Harvard Law trajectory, begins by relating quotidian childhood experiences as vignettes. Three successive chapters go from first communion to dyeing Easter cascarones to trick-or-treating. A quarter of the way into the novel, she is suddenly 14 and has been offered a scholarship to a boarding school in Austin, Tex., 350 miles from her home in McAllen. The loosely connected anecdotes then shift to a conventional narrative thread about convincing her parents to let her attend. What will keep readers enthralled are the details of Sofia's home life--from the sobremesa, a "sacred time" after dinner in which the family reconnects through conversation, to the worm of the title, a critter soaked in mescal that acts as a "cure for homesickness" when eaten. Readers may well feel unprepared for both a death at novel's end and Sofia's out-of-the-blue neighborhood activism--but the characters are real and engaging, the vignettes funny and enlightening, and Sofia's lack of cynicism is refreshing. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

The Tequila Worm. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(46), 49-49.

* Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. 2005. 176p. Random/Wendy Lamb, $15.95 (0-385-74674-1); lib. ed., $17.99 (0-385-90905-5).

Gr. 6-9. From an early age, Sofia has watched the comadres in her close-knit barrio community, in a small Texas town, and she dreams of becoming "someone who makes people into a family," as the comadres do. The secret, her young self observes, seems to lie in telling stories and "being brave enough to eat a whole tequila worm." In this warm, entertaining debut novel, Canales follows Sofia from early childhood through her teen years, when she receives a scholarship to attend an exclusive boarding school. Each chapter centers on the vivid particulars of Mexican American traditions--celebrating the Day of the Dead, preparing for a cousin's quinceanera. The explanations of cultural traditions never feel too purposeful; they are always rooted in immediate, authentic family emotions, and in Canales' exuberant storytelling, which, like a good anecdote shared between friends, finds both humor and absurdity in sharply observed, painful situations from weathering slurs and other blatant harassment to learning what it means to leave her community for a privileged, predominately white school. Readers of all backgrounds will easily connect with Sofia as she grows up, becomes a comadre, and helps rebuild the powerful, affectionate community that raised her.--Gillian Engberg

Engberg, G. (2005, October 15). Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. Booklist, 102(4), 47.

Program: Have this book available as part of the Dia de los Muertos display. Have an event where participants, young and old, can bring some sort of token or items that represents a part of their family history, and share the stories in small groups.