Upset that his freckled skin and reddish hair cause others to assume he’s an outsider in his own culture, a Mexican-American seventh grader gripes to his father that They Call Me Güero (Cinco Puntos, $12.95)—a nickname reserved for light-skinned boys. But his close-knit family and nerdy friends, los Bobbys, have his back. Thanks to his English teacher, Ms. Wong, Güero discovers how poetry can help him both discover and express himself. David Bowles portrays life on the border through a series of poems as diverse in their forms as the characters populating his exceptional novel. Ages 11-14.