How Tia Lola Came to Stay

Alvarez, Julia (2001). How Tia Lola Came to Stay. New York, New York: Alfred A Knopf.
Ten year old Miguel's parents have divorced, so he his younger sister and his mom move to Vermont from New York City. Miguel misses his old life and is having trouble fitting in. Miguel's Tia (Aunt) Lola arrives to visit the family from the Dominican Republic. At first Miguel feels embarrassed by her lack of English and flamboyant ways. Miguel comes to discover over time how much Tia Lola helps him and his family despite the language and cultural difference. Tia Lola actually helps Miguel and his family fit in and make friends. Initially Miguel could not wait for Tia Lola to leave, but at the end of the book while the family is visiting the Dominican Republic, he realizes how much he wants her to return to Vermont with their family.
The use of Spanish (language) in this book helps us to better understand the family and their culture. There is tension in this story as well. Miguel's nuclear family has just been through a divorce and feels the tension that is involved with that, Miguel feels tense in his own skin after all of the changes, and Tia Lola adds tension to the mix with her different cultural ways. The resolution of the tension helps to make this such a good read.