I bought the Gabriela book from the Barnes and Noble! (Shoutout to the lady who had no clue that they weren't supposed to be selling Gabriela books and got one from the back for me!) The book was awesome and I am already anticipating the release of Book 2 on March 28, 2017. (Or maybe I'll get it early again!) Now, here's the new pieces of information!
Proof that I have the book and am NOT making this up:
(NOTE- You must comment and ask permission to share this info on your blog/site, and link back to this site.)
Every big spoiler will have the word "Spoiler!" in all caps and bold print preceding it, so you can skip the big spoilers if you want to read the book.
First, we get a state, age and grade reveal! Gabriela is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! This book takes place in June-August 2017, and Gabriela is going into sixth grade. This book also states that she is 10.
Next, you guys get a chapter list. Gabriela's book has 24 chapters of varying lengths.
Like a Roller Coaster
So Long for Now
More than Just A Center
Words and Actions
Shakespeare and Sandwiches
Shoulder to Shoulder, Chest to Chest
In a New Space
Poetry, Paint and Plies
Network Repairs
Rallying
Inspiration
Until Further Notice
Because
Where Everyone Can Here
Cats and Choreography
Five, Six, Seven, EIGHT!
Picnic In The Park
Heartbeats
Spirits Soaring
Victory
An Ode to Mount Calvary
Lights On, Full Power
One Stage, Many Voices
Giving Thanks
Next, I will make a list of people in Gabriela's story (both major and minor):
Tina McBride- Gabriela's mama. She is the founder of Liberty Arts Community Center and teaches hip hop and tap there.
Rob McBride- Gabriela's dad. He is a geek and likes computers.
Clifford "Red" Knight- Gabriela's cousin. He is staying with Gabriela's family because his mom is working in the military as a doctor. He started the poetry club at Liberty Arts Community Center.
Maya- Gabriela's cat, named after Maya Angelou.
Teagan Hamon- Gabriela's best friend and granddaughter of Mr. Hamon, the art teacher at Liberty Arts Community Center. Teagan loves to code, has a coding journal named Cody and wears beanies all the time.
Amelia Sanchez- Gabriela's ballet teacher who has dyslexia.
Stan- The janitor at Liberty Arts. Stan has worked at Liberty Arts since it opened and is friends with everyone there.
Mrs. Baxter- Gabriela's speech therapist at school. She is never seen, but Gabriela takes her advice when she gets nervous.
Mr. Hamon- The art teacher and program director at Liberty Arts. He is Teagan's grandfather.
Alejandro- A boy in Gabriela's poetry club.
Bria- A girl in Gabriela's poetry club.
Julia Santos- A woman who works with Mama with the city grants for Liberty Arts.
Jaime- A building inspector.
Principal Stewart- The principal of Thomas Jefferson Elementary, the school Gabriela graduated prior to the events of Gabriela.
Aaliyah Reade-Johnson- A kid from Gabriela's elementary school who bullied Gabriela for her stuttering problem. She gave Gabriela the nickname "Repeat" because Gabriela would always repeat what she said.
Mr. Ludwig- The director of the Gifted Youth program at Gabriela's old school.
Isaiah Jordan- A kid from the Gifted Youth program who loves Shakespeare. His dad owns a church that the Liberty Arts kids practice in while Liberty Arts is unavailable, and (SPOILER) joins the poetry club at the end of the book.
Mr. Jordan- The owner of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, which has a recreation room that the Liberty Arts kids use to practice in while Liberty Arts is unavailable, and Isaiah's father.
Mrs. Blake- A instructor for the Tiny Tots program at Liberty Arts.
Taylor- A Tiny Tot dancer who loves splashing in paint.
Brittney- A dancer from the senior program.
Sharday- A line dancer who goes to Liberty Arts.
Delilah- A dancer from the senior program.
Here's the plot point list:
-Liberty Arts Community center is having their annual Rhythm and Views dance recital in a month.
-On June 23, 2017, just as Gabriela and Teagan try to show the surprise they made for Red, the power goes out at Liberty Arts and everyone is forced to evacuate.
-Gabriela decides that she wants classes to be held somewhere else while they fix Liberty Arts
-Isaiah's dad offers a recreation room in his church to have classes
-Gabriela and Teagan decide to sell friendship bracelets to raise money to fix Liberty Arts
-Mama starts a GoFundMe called "Dream Together" to raise money to fix Liberty Arts
-Gabriela thinks that the Mount Calvary recreation room is too small for all the kids
-Gabriela decides to hold a rally outside of Liberty Arts to get the city council to work on saving Liberty Arts and decides to have petitions there
-Gabriela wants to get people to finish a unfinished mural of Mr. Hamon's to show how much the community loves the arts
-Red, Teagan, Isaiah and Alejandro make a parody of Watch Me to perform at the rally to get people's attention
-The petitions surpass the goal, but Gabriela kicks a ladder while celebrating, causing paint to spill all over the petitions
-Since there is more problems than the power, the city wants to close Liberty Arts
-They need to raise $20,000 to save Liberty Arts
-The Rhythm and Views show is postponed until further notice
-Gabriela wants the "Because" notes to be sent to the city, but they make a video of people reading their notes instead and send it to the city
-Gabriela comes up with the idea to perform a dance in the park to spread awareness of Liberty Arts, but not to tell Mama in order to surprise her
-Gabriela choreographs the hip-hop dance and holds a secret rehearsal at Mount Calvary church
-Gabriela tells Miss Amelia to let the senior dancers take the junior dancers to the park to "have a picnic"
-Lots of people come to watch the dancers dance to "You Can't Stop The Beat". Here's the song if you aren't familiar with it:
-Gabriela's poetry group gave a speech after the performance
-The local CBS News comes to see the Liberty Arts performance, and Gabriela gets interviewed
-Dream Together's link is on the CBS site
-Mama is a bit mad about the secret, but is proud of Gabriela and Red
*ALL THE PLOT POINTS BELOW HERE ARE SPOILERS!*
-Gabriela feels like she found her voice
-Dream Together surpassed the goal!
-The repairs come in in about 3 weeks
-Gabriela thinks of a great idea for the Rhythm and Views finale
-The finale consists of Gabriela reading a poem about Liberty Arts over a montage of photos from the efforts to save Liberty Arts, and she gets a standing ovation
-Gabriela, Teagan and Red get a surprise party on the first day back at Liberty Arts
-Mama gets requests for the Liberty Arts poetry group to perform at events
Here's the small details:
-Gabriela dances in room 7 at Liberty Arts
-Liberty Arts is 17 years old
-Aside from tap, Gabriela also takes ballet and hip-hop
-Gabriela lives on Tompkins Street
-Poetry is located in the Liberty Arts auditorium
-The leaked purple sequin outfit is Gabriela's Rhythm and Views costume
-There are places called Philly's Finest Souvenirs and Empanada Pal by Liberty Arts
-The mural, when finished, has three hearts to represent visual arts, dance and poetry and I love Liberty because notes.
-Teagan always speaks for Gabriela at the rally, and Gabriela gets annoyed
-SPOILER! Teagan and Gabriela make up over FaceTime, where they make up limericks
-Gabriela and Teagan met at Liberty Arts
-Gabriela wears her meet outfit while she films a hip-hop dance tutorial for the park flash mob
ALL ITEMS BELOW HERE ARE SPOILERS!
-On the day of Rhythm and Views, Dad takes Gabriela and Red to Waffle House to celebrate
-The city repainted the Liberty Arts walls
AMERICAN GIRL TRIVIA: This is the second case of a GOTY book appearing at bookstores early!
COMMENT DISCUSSION QUESTION: Who can't wait for Christmas?
MY ANSWER: Me!