Under The Mesquite

Under the Mesquite

• Genre: Fiction; young adult contemporary in free verse
• Originally Published: 2011
• Reading Level/Interest: 990L; grades 7-12
• Structure/Length: 6 parts; 47 chapters; approx. 224 pages
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Lupita, the oldest of eight children, must grapple with the change that comes with her mother’s cancer diagnosis. Juggling high school and caring for her siblings, Lupita must come to terms with her mother’s death to find herself.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Death of a parent; cancer

Guadalupe García McCall, Author

• Bio: Born in Piedras Negras, Coauhila, Mexico; raised in Eagle Pass, Texas; fluent in Spanish and English; chosen for keynote address at Sirens Women in Fantasy Conference in 2016 and for the National Latino Children’s Literature Conference in 2017; taught K-12 in San Antonio; moved to the Pacific Northwest to teach literature, women’s studies, and creative writing at George Fox University; currently serving as Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Antioch University; advocate for literacy, diverse books, and Own Voices
• Other Works: Summer of the Mariposas (2012); Shame the Stars (2016); All the Stars Denied (2018); The Keeper (2022)
• Awards: Pura Belpré Medal (2012); William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist (2012); Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award (2013); International Latino Book Awards Honorable Mention (2012); International Literacy Association’s Promising Poet Award (2013)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Family Is the Most Important Foundation
• Identity Is Tied to Heritage
• Coming of Age and Adapting to Change

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the authorial and literary contexts that inform the author’s choices in structuring the narrative as a novel in verse inspired by personal experiences.
• Analyze and discuss paired resources to make connections with the text’s themes of Family, Identity, and Coming of Age.
• Critically examine and adapt a poem from the novel into a dialogue-driven dramatic scene or monologue that demonstrates an understanding of the intersection between poetry and drama in the novel-in-verse genre and of the role of language in the novel.
• Analyze and evaluate themes, figurative language, and poetic devices in the novel to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the use of nature motifs to communicate themes, among other essay topics.