Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

By Erin Entrada Kelly

“Utterly endearing!” —Annie Barrows, New York Times-bestselling author of the Ivy + Bean books

“Hilarious and heart-melting.” —Sara Pennypacker, New York Times–bestselling author of Pax

Introducing eight-year-old Marisol Rainey—an irresistible new character from Newbery Medal winning and New York Times–bestselling Erin Entrada Kelly!

Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey is an illustrated novel about summer, friendship, and overcoming fears, told with warm humor and undeniable appeal. Fans of Clementine, The Year of Billy Miller, and Ramona the Pest will be thrilled to meet Marisol.

Marisol Rainey’s mother was born in the Philippines. Marisol’s father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard she calls Peppina . . . but she’s way too scared to climb it. This all makes Marisol the only girl in her small Louisiana town with a mother who was born elsewhere and a father who lives elsewhere (most of the time)—the only girl who’s fearful of adventure and fun.

Will Marisol be able to salvage her summer and have fun with Jada, her best friend? Maybe. Will Marisol figure out how to get annoying Evie Smythe to leave her alone? Maybe. Will Marisol ever get to spend enough real time with her father? Maybe. Will Marisol find the courage to climb Peppina? Maybe. 

Told in short chapters with illustrations by the author on nearly every page, Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey is a must-have for early elementary grade readers. Erin Entrada Kelly celebrates the small but mighty Marisol, the joys of friendship, and the triumph of overcoming your fears in this stunning new novel for readers of Kevin Henkes, Meg Medina, Andrew Clements, Sara Pennypacker, and Kate DiCamillo. 

Features black-and-white artwork throughout by Erin Entrada Kelly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9780062970442

Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly was awarded the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space. She grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She is a professor of children’s literature in the graduate fiction and publishing programs at Rosemont College, where she earned her MFA, and is on the faculty at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press. Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, a Spring 2018 Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; and three acclaimed novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, Surely Surely Marisol Rainey, and Only Only Marisol Rainey, which she also illustrated. She lives in Delaware.

Book preview

The Tree Is Named Peppina

There is a magnolia tree in Marisol Rainey’s backyard. The tree is named Peppina. It is perfect for climbing. The branches are practically made for human feet. It’s as if Peppina wanted to say: Step here, and here, and here.

Peppina has a thick branch close to the ground, like she’s giving you a boost. Marisol calls this booster branch. There’s another one just above it, like a step with a knob in it. She calls this knobby branch. Peppina also has a canopy of dense, rubbery leaves that shield you from the Louisiana sun and make it easy to hide when you don’t want to be found.

Marisol is the one who named her. She got the name from an old movie called Poor Little Peppina, starring Mary Pickford. She watched the movie on her first night in the new house. The next day, Marisol was exploring the backyard. She’d never had a backyard. They’d lived in an apartment before they moved to their house last year. She stood on the root of the magnolia tree, craned her neck to give it a good once-over, and said, Hello, Peppina.

She didn’t say it in a friendly way.

She didn’t say it in a cheerful way.

Think of someone you’re never happy to see, like your dentist, or the principal after you’re sent to the office.

That’s how Marisol said Hello, Peppina.

Like she was greeting a bowl of cold oatmeal.

Marisol was the only person who felt this way. Everyone else thought Peppina was the perfect tree.

Well, maybe not everyone, since there are millions of people who have never met Peppina. But according to Marisol’s big brother, Oz, who is twelve, Peppina is the best tree ever.

This is the best tree ever! said Oz, the first time he climbed it. He climbed up, up, up, past booster branch, past knobby branch, all the way up, until he was so high he had to lean forward to peer down at Marisol, whose heart went thump, thump, thump.

Sometimes Oz’s best friend, Stu, would come over, and they’d scurry up the tree like squirrels. Small shards of bark and leaves would rain down from Peppina as their sneakers went up, up, up. Marisol told herself that they were able to climb it so easily because they were older, but even Jada George—Marisol’s best friend since last year—loved Peppina.

This is the best tree ever! said Jada, the first time she climbed Peppina.

Once—and only once—Marisol’s orange cat, Jelly Beans, climbed the tree and wouldn’t come down for six hours. Marisol cried until her eyes hurt. She imagined Beans stuck there forever. But when Beans finally came down, he looked perfectly content, as if he’d spent all day at the beach.

Everyone loved Peppina.

Everyone but Marisol.

The Thing About Best Friends

It’s the first day of summer, and it’s approximately five bazillion degrees outside, with 2,000 percent humidity. That’s how summers are in Louisiana.

When I grow up, I’m going to move somewhere that isn’t so hot all the time, says Jada. She’s lying on Peppina’s booster branch with one leg dangling down. One of the best things about Jada is that she lives only three blocks away, so she can ride her bike over anytime, except when she spends weekends with her dad.

Marisol is planted on the ground. She’s listening to the birds. She loves the way they chirp to each other. She wonders what they’re saying. It must be exciting to be a bird, she thinks.

Where would you go, if you could go anywhere? Marisol asks.

I don’t know. Maybe Athens.

Where is Athens?

In Greece.

Isn’t it hot in Greece, too? Marisol asks.

I’m not sure, says Jada. We’ll ask your mom.

Jada and Marisol agree that Mrs. Rainey is the smartest person they know.

Reviews for Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Marisol thinks she might want to climb Peppina, the large magnolia tree in her yard. But she doesn't quite feel brave enough to do so even though her brother Oz and best friend Jada climb it all the time. There are a number of other things she's not brave about: meeting family for the first time in the Philippines, confronting Evie Smythe, giving an oral report at school. But maybe she can tackle one fear for now. Kids who are similarly anxious may also be inspired to take a couple of brave steps forward.

[jennybeast · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's funny, this Marisol could be my friend L as a child -- and I love her -- I love the habit of naming things, deliberate thoughts and storytelling, some timidity and her honesty as a friend. Sadly, I do not love Marisol -- I wish I could tell you why. I think I might just find gentle reads really irritating, even when they have some humor and some real challenges that kids go through. Not my cup of tea.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kelly tries to round this out, but it still feels pretty simple, even for an early chapter book.

[sjgirl-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A quick read with cute illustrations and a relatable young heroine who struggles with a number of fears like climbing trees, speaking in class, etc. It’s written quite simply for very young readers but it’s a simplicity that manages to weave in heart and depth. This was adorable from the way Marisol gives names to everything around her to her love of cats and silent films and a friendship that we should all be so fortunate to find. I really enjoyed this story of Marisol trying to work up her courage (particularly the crucial part that friendship plays in it) and I look forward to more of her adventures.

[grgenius_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Marisol is a girl after my own heart.
I was her as a child, and still am to some extent, because there were things that the other kids would do that seemed so easy, so mundane, so every day ordinary...that I simply could not bring myself to do them. It wasn't about ability most of the time, it was about the big "F" word...FEAR.

Fear of a thing, whether it be a situation, task, person, or object, doesn't just go away and it's not something that has to be justified. It simply IS for that person, and THAT'S OKAY. Facing that fear, whether you overcome it or simply learn to manage it, is what really matters. Knowing that you don't have to be alone with that fear and that there are others that will understand or even know exactly what you're going through is what counts. Marisol is lucky enough to have a best friend, and family that even though she doesn't admit her fear in the beginning...they get it because they get her, and they love her for being her....fear and all! Seeing her embrace that sense of self, make a decision to try to challenge it, and own her steps along the way was empowering...and I think young readers will get that as well. We don't have to take on the world for something to feel JUST LIKE THAT...but when we do and we come out on top, it feels like then you truly can fly.



**copy received for review; opinions are my own