Lucha Libre

12/26/2016

Maximilian: The Lucha Libre Club by Xavier Garza

Welcome to the world of lucha libre, a high intensity freestyle form of wrestling. This entertaining sport, originating in Mexico, differs significantly from Greco-Roman wrestling. The competition involves a series of rapid holds and includes "high flying" maneuvers. Individual competitors, known as luchadores, wear distinctive colorful masks.

"The spirit of lucha libre is the force that drives mere mortals to do incredible feats in the ring"

With the Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller series Garza brings the excitement of lucha libre to middle grade readers.
Meet Maximilian, a young man living in a strong lucha libra family culture. Max's uncle is The Guardian Angel, a superstar luchadore. However fighting is not limited to luchadores. In one of the funniest scenes in the book, his aunts get into a heated disagreement at the hospital maternity ward, arguing as to whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. Sparring both in and out of the ring is in this family's blood.
Max seems destined to carry on the family tradition. He joins a secret club for relatives of luchadores and wrestles with the possibility of becoming the next Guardian Angel.
The series will appeal to young readers. It is packed with intense fight scenes, humor, and plenty of middle grade angst (Max has girlfriend issues).
But here's the bonus: the book is bilingual, with the text alternating between English on even-numbered pages and Spanish on odd-numbered pages. These books can be enjoyed by those who are fluent in either language as well as those learning a second language.
Maximilian and The Lucha Libra Club is the declared the winner!