A Hero's guide to Summer Vacation is fantastic! I enjoyed every minute of reading this one because my son and his grandfather have such a beautiful connection. Cartaya weaves this family connection together so creatively. I truly enjoyed that Cartaya got the ages of the characters right as sometimes the actions and descriptions don't really match. Gonzalo acts like a true 7th grader about to begin 8th grade. I'll be recommending this one to my reader's!

Gonzalo is going on a book tour with his Grandfather who is the author of a best selling book series. Gonzalo is grieving the loss of his father.
His grandfather has never liked the fame, so he decides that he and Gonzalo are going to take a road trip across the country and make a few stops along the way.
Gonzalo gets a little jealous along the way as he sees his grandfather seems to care about other people than his own grandson. But he learns that these people have made a difference in his grandfather's past.
Gonzalo and his grandfather get closer on this road trip and he learns a lot about his grandfather's past and what inspired the books.
His mother joins them part way through the trip and it really helps bring them all together.

This is a really great middle grade read, about family, grief and figuring out how to move forward.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Such a great road trip story! Loved the character development of Alberto and the slow reveal of Gonzalo's family history.

I think I would have liked this one better if the summary had not been so misleading. The summary asserts the "Gonzalo didn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy" and that he and his grandfather will "will slay demons, real and imagined," leading me to expect some level of fantasy in the plot. But there are no demons (slain or otherwise) and while monstrous things happened in Gonzalo's father's past, no monsters ever appeal (symbolic or real) in the text. The book is really about grief, loss, and trauma across multiple generations. It was fine but, as someone dealing with losing their own parent, I probably wouldn't have requested this book had the plot been accurately described (although certainly the depictions of grief are realistic and touching). Also, I found it mildly annoying that the question of why Gonzalo's mother named him after the lead character in her father's book was repeatedly asked, even to the point of a theme, and then never asked or acted on. Did a scene get cut or something?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had all these feels for Gonzalo Alberto García. A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation is an emotional rollercoaster. Well, more like a 10-day road trip with your estranged grandpa, who’s actually a famous author.
✨
Gonzalo is quiet, artistic, intelligent and just wants to feel seen. His grandpa Alberto, a quiet, grumpy and famous children’s author of a book series that is well-known everywhere (think HP or Percy J). Gonzalo’s summer is looking like he must accompany his grandpa on a book tour that neither wants to do. Gonzalo promised his mom that he would start and finish the book series in time for the latest book. While reading the series, Gonzalo learns how the main character’s life reflects his grandpa’s real life back in Cuba (60’s). As he reads, he understands how he is similar to him rather than opposite. And as they communicate on this trip, they begin to understand one another. They build a respectful and supportive relationship. Gonzalo was able to reach a soft spot in his grandfather, that his mother (Veronica) didn’t know existed. She also had a complicated relationship with her father ever since her mother passed.

While they all grieved in their own way.

Gonzalo expressed his feelings through creative art. Alberto expressed his feelings through his writing. Veronica, worked her way through grief.

Towards the end of the tour, they all learned that importance of life was showing up for each other. Especially, where it counts.

This book is special and meaningful. Great book for children and adults.
Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy.
TW: family loss, grief


Goodreads: Brenda (Jadore _2read)

Rising 8th grader Gonzalo finds himself on a cross-country road trip with his normally reclusive grandfather, the famous writer of a middle grade fantasy series. Traveling across the US in an unairconditioned car seems like torture to Gonzalo, who is grieving his dad's very recent death. However, as art and time begin to do their work, Gonzalo starts to better understand his grandfather and himself.

One of the really fun things about this book is how the external narrator explicitly tracks Fonzalo's road trip onto the archetypal hero's journey. That, and the various threads of the story (Gonzalo's POV, excerpts from his grandfather's novels, Abuelo's "in his own words" sections, and other interstitials) make this both a unique reading experience and one that can be mapped to read alikes. Some middle grade readers may need support to follow the shifting POVs - but I think this will be a great summer read for 5th and 6th graders in particular!

Read alikes:
Nic Stone's Clean Getaway (middle grade - grandparent road trip with historical context and a lot of reflection about identity)
Scott Westerfeld's Afterworlds (young adult - chapters alternate between the fictional fictional narrative and what is going on in the author's everyday life)
Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and Carry On (young adult/new adult - Harry Potter parallels and the power of art to process grief)

The story is well written and interesting, but takes a long time to build up to the climax. The "narrator" character appears at random and interrupts the flow of the story. The content of the story is good; a teenage boy processes his grief after losing his father through art and bonding with his grandfather.

I recently read A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya with my sons, and it was an absolute hit in our house. The story follows Gonzalo, a quiet, artistic boy who feels more like an observer than a participant in his own life, and his estranged grandfather, Alberto, a famous but reclusive author. When the two are forced to go on a cross-country road trip together to promote Alberto’s final book, they embark on a journey that’s as much about mending their fractured relationship as it is about exploring the landscapes of America. My sons, aged 1 and 6, were completely drawn into the adventure, humor, and heart of the story. They both laughed at the banter between the two characters and were captivated by the road trip itself, especially the classic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Convertible named Mathilde. The blend of fantasy and reality also fascinated them; they loved how the book wove elements of Alberto’s fictional world into their real-world adventures, making them think about the stories we tell and how they shape our lives. It even inspired them to create their own drawings and stories, just like Gonzalo does in the book.

What really stood out to me was how the book sparked conversations about family. My sons were moved by how Gonzalo and Alberto learned to understand and support each other, even when it was hard. It opened up a dialogue about our own family dynamics and the importance of showing up for one another. A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation is more than just a fun road trip story—it’s a heartfelt exploration of family, creativity, and self-discovery. My sons and I loved it, and it’s a book we’ll definitely revisit together. Highly recommend for families looking for a story that’s both entertaining and meaningful!