Frankie Corzo takes AudioFile’s listeners Behind the Mic to share her connection to Meg Medina’s middle-grade novel MERCI SUÁREZ CHANGES GEARS and what it meant for her to record it.
“As a little girl, I didn’t have these kinds of books to look up to . . . Even as a woman in my 30s, I very much saw my family reflected in the story of this little girl.”—Narrator Frankie Corzo
MERCI SUÁREZ CHANGES GEARS
by Meg Medina, read by Frankie Corzo
Brilliance Audio/Candlewick
Frankie Corzo presents a realistic portrayal of a young, first-generation Cuban-American’s life in Florida. Sixth grader Merci Suárez is a scholarship student at an exclusive private school. At home, Merci lives with her close-knit extended family. Corzo perfectly delineates the Spanish words and accents of Merci’s family, but she uses a neutral American accent to narrate Merci’s voice, highlighting the way Merci straddles both cultures. Many listeners will relate to Merci as she navigates changes in her family and school life.
Frankie Corzo has narrated audiobooks for all ages—Francisco X. Stork’s THE MEMORY OF LIGHT for young adults, Katherine Paterson’s MY BRIGADISTA YEAR for middle grades, and Anne Sibley O’Brien’s I’M NEW HERE for young listeners—as well as adult titles such as Stephanie Elizondo Griest’s ALL THE AGENTS AND SAINTS: Dispatches from the US Borderlands.
