Shine On, Luz Véliz! 

By Rebecca Balcárcel

Chronicle Books

2022

A beautiful coming-of-age story for fans of Front Desk and Merci Suárez Changes Gears, this book celebrates identity, language, heritage, family, and the determination to follow one’s own inner light. 

Have you ever been the best at something . . . only to lose it all?

Luz Véliz is a soccer star—or rather, she was a soccer star. With her serious knee injury, it’s unlikely she’ll be back on the field anytime soon. But without soccer, who is she? Even her dad treats her differently now—like he doesn’t know her or, worse, like he doesn’t even like her. When Luz discovers she has a knack for coding, it feels like a lifeline to a better self. If she can just ace the May Showcase, she’ll not only skip a level in her coding courses and impress Ms. Freeman and intriguing, brilliant Trevor—she’ll have her parents cheering her on from the sidelines, just the way she likes it.

But something—someone—is about to enter the Vélizes’ life. And when Solana arrives, nothing will be the same, ever again.

Unforgettable characters, family drama, and dauntless determination illuminate Luz’s journey as she summons her inner strength and learns to accept others and embrace the enduring connection of family. Through it all, Luz’s light is a constant—a guide for others, a path forward through the dark, and an ineffable celebration of her own eternal self.

Rebecca Balcárcel

Rebecca Balcárcel took her MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College's Writing Seminars and received their Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize. The Other Half of Happy won the Pura Belpré Author Honor, which recognizes literature for children or youth that best portrays the Latinx cultural experience. Her poems and essays have appeared in journals such as Third Coast and North American Review, and her book of poems is titled Palabras In Each Fist. She currently serves the students of Tarrant County College as Associate Professor of English and lives in Belford, Texas. Find her on YouTube as the SixMinuteScholar.