Stef Soto, Taco Queen

In Chapter 27, people of Stef’s city speak out against food trucks. Given that most of the food trucks in the novel are owned and operated by US immigrants, explore the possibility of prejudice informing the arguments made against food trucks.

One of Stef’s major character transformations is from passive observer to active participant. Using Stef’s character arc and the outcome of the novel, explore the difference between letting things happen and making things happen. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

As the protagonist of the novel, Stef is influenced by those around her. Choose three secondary characters (you may use Tía Perla) and explore how each contributes to Stef’s character arc.

Analyze the struggle between Stef’s desire for independence and her parents’ fear-based restrictions. How is each perspective helpful and harmful to Stef and her parents, both as individuals and as a family unit?

Using the ideas in Variation in Life Experiences and Perspectives, explore Torres’s choice to have Stef as the only point-of-view character in the novel. What is gained or lost by experiencing the story through only one perspective? Choose one major event of the novel and explore how another character would have described it differently.

Explore Stef’s relationship to art throughout the novel. How is art interwoven in Stef’s character arc, even though Stef’s main struggles are with independence and maturity? How does art help Stef along her character arc, and what messages about communication and self-confidence does art offer readers?

How is the book as a whole a call to action for young readers? What overall lessons does the novel offer about Fighting for What’s Important and not backing down, even when it seems like all is lost? How does this align with the initiatives Torres supports as discussed in the background section, and what does this say about how authors can institute and encourage change?

One of the biggest reasons Stef’s parents fear their surroundings is the language barrier they face. Extrapolating from the struggle Stef’s parents face, how could their transition to a new country have been made easier so they felt more comfortable in their new home?