Sixteen-year-old Florrie turns political activist when she takes notice of the changing landscape of her beloved San Antonio hometown. Upset by the loss of small independent businesses to money-hungry corporations, she first begins her grassroots campaign with her family, who own their restaurant, encouraging them to support other local businesses and to avoid the chain stores. Supported by her family and a few close friends, she organizes rallies and calls for her fellow residents to refuse to patronize all franchises for the last 16 weeks of the year. The boycott begins strong with support from local businesses, but eventually wanes at what seems like an impossible task. However, Florrie never gives up her fight to preserve the past and encourage independent retail. The plot offers a good look at the life of a high school activist and all the work involved in fighting for something one believes in. (SLJ)
This book had me hooked only pages into it taking me down memory lane. Being raised in San Antonio for the first 15 years of my life, I found myself recognizing many names, places, and streets that Naomi Shihab Nye mentioned. My mom would be able to give details of each place and street mentioned and I suppose that is where I got my knowledge. San Antonio was struggling during my time there so we did not venture into downtown very often but since, the city has been partially restored to its glory. While reading I felt I could walk along with Florrie as one of her friends and support her cause.
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