The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Cartaya, Pablo. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora. 2017. 256p. ISBN 9781101997239. Available at FIC CAR on the library shelves.

Thirteen-year-old Arturo’s family is intense. His grandmother owns one of the best restaurants in all of Canal Grove, a neighborhood in Miami. His mother now runs the restaurant, but Abuela visits often. Many of his relatives work here too, and they all live in the same apartment complex. The family would love to enlarge the restaurant, which sits on a city-owned property, by using the empty lot next door, also owned by the city. But William Pipo, a developer with deep pockets, wants to throw a large complex on the entire block.

At the same time, the daughter of Arturo’s mother’s best friend, and her father, come from Spain to spend a few months in Miami with the family following her death. Arturo remembers her as a lanky kid, but in the last few years she’s turned gorgeous. Arturo is pretty sure he’s in love with her, but even though she’s not related she feels like family.

So Arturo’s plan for the summer is simple. With his best friends away to camp and traveling, there’s only three things to do. He must save the restaurant. He must get Carmen. And he must make his Abuela proud of her favorite grandchild. Except that nothing is about to work out, and Arturo’s life is going to experience an epic fail. Refusing to let failure ruin him, however, Arturo is about to have the summer of his life!