The picturesque city of San Antonio, Texas, with its rich Mexican-American culture provides the ideal backdrop for the linked stories in this intriguing novel. Luz, a young Latina, will represent her state in an upcoming national spelling bee. Her participation in the contest signifies a substantial milestone for her community’s sense of pride and achievement. But her success also triggers a variety of other emotions: Luz’s younger sister, Justina, struggles to understand her mixed feelings towards her older sister’s accomplishment; Luz’s grandmother fears her granddaughter’s ambition while another generation of Latinas pins its hopes on her; and the Anglo students and parents must come to terms with the increasing visibility of the Latino community.
Woven together with the vivid metaphor of making tortillas, stories such as “Kneading Attitude” and “Mixing Ingredients” explore deep and consequential themes in this charming and hopeful collection.
Finalist, 1998 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Literature Award
Named to the 1997 Américas Commended List for Children and Young Adult Literature
Second Place, University of California, Irvine’s Chicano/Latino Literary Prize – Best Collection of Short Stories.
“A worthy first effort.”—Library Journal
“…a fine story of family, love and tradition.”—Billie Letts, author of Where the Heart is
“White Bread Competition offers us a delightful buffet of cross generational characters which celebrates the spirit of community and family.”—Helena María Viramontes, author of The Moths and Other Stories and Under the Feet of Jesus
JO ANN YOLANDA HERNÁNDEZ is the author of White Bread Competition (Piñata Books, 1997), which received recognition as the second place winner of the University of California Irvine’s Chicano / Latino Literary Prize in 1996. Her work has been published in various journals. She currently resides in Mesa, Arizona.
ATOS Interest Level: Middle Grades
Category: Young Adult
ATOS English: 4.4
Accelerated Reader Quiz #: 35005
