Heart and Salsa (S.A.S.S.)

Cat Wilcox ditches frozen Boston for tropical Oaxaca, Mexico in order to escape her new stepdad and her happier memories of her life in Arizona as a regional diving champ. There, she hopes to spend all summer bonding with her best friend Sabrina, but when she arrives at the airport, Sabrina has more than her luggage in tow: she's madly in love with her new boyfriend Brian, who's also in the S.A.S.S. (Students Across the Seven Seas) program.Cat and the others work to build an orphanage for needy Oaxacan children, and they're also expected to pick up Spanish (there are no formal language classes) and Mexican culture and history through educational field trips. Cat's host family seems nice enough, if you discount the prickly teenage daughter Itzel, Cat's new roommate. Itzel seems determined to show up Cat as yet another spoiled rich American princess.Cat's summer doesn't turn out quite like she'd planned; the timid Cat is terrified of boys, and when classmate Aiden (a successful competitive swimmer) approaches her, she's petrified. Through Aiden, Cat learns that change is inevitable; her life in Boston will never be the same as in Scottsdale, and she slowly opens up to the new possibilities that life in Boston with her new stepfather holds.She embraces real Mexican culture (including some adventuresome, albeit unintentional, food choices) and her Spanish improves dramatically, as does her rocky relationship with Izzie. Her summer in Mexico changes her for the better, making her realize how lucky she is to have three great parents where the Oaxacan orphans, so grateful for a new home, have none.Suzanne Nelson has filled the novel with many elements of Mexican culture, from historical tidbits about pre-Columbian and colonial cities to folk art, regional cuisine, and flora and fauna that really serve to immerse the reader into Oaxaca and Mexico in general (although some of the Spanish translations were a little suspect). This is a fun read that focuses on friendship, the meaning of family, and learning to see the world through new eyes.

This installment in the S.A.S.S. series features Caitlin Wilcox, a student who is spending her summer in Mexico with the Students Across the Seven Seas program. Cat can't wait to spend time in Mexico, with its sunshine and clear blue ocean, to reunite with her best friend Sabrina, after spending the past few months with her mom and new stepdad in Boston rather than her sunny former home of New Mexico, and to practice her Spanish, a language she loves. Nothing, however, turns out as planned.Sabrina has brought along her boyfriend, Brian, whose existence Cat hadn't even known of, and it's more difficult than it should be for Cat to get some face time with her best friend. Luckily, Cat quickly begins to make new friends; Aidan, Rachel, and Pete are all friendly fellow students. Even Izzie, Cat's host sister with whom she gets off to a rather rocky start with, turns into a friend. Spending her days building a school for orphans in the hot, humid weather of Oaxaca will be tough, but it'll be a lot of fun, especially with great friends!When they're not working on the school, the students are doing their learning by traveling to nearby rain forests and museums. Cat and her friends are having a lot of fun, but she can't help but wish she had more time with Sabrina. Cat's even starting to suspect that Brian isn't as great as he seems, but she couldn't raise that issue with Sabrina...right? Cat's got her own boy troubles as well. Are she and Aidan just friends, or is there more to it than Cat would like to admit?HEART AND SALSA is a fun read that will have readers wishing to escape to sunny Mexico right along with Cat! It's full of adventure in a foreign country, likeable characters, and romance. Cat is a character to whom readers will be able to relate, especially anyone who has ever had to move away from friends and family. The only reason Cat's mother agreed to let her go to Mexico was because they had just moved to Boston from New Mexico a few months ago, and adjusting is tough for Cat. While Suzanne Nelson's book is an entertaining, quick read, it's not particularly remarkable; it won't earn a place on my favorites shelf, but it was certainly worth reading!Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce