MEXIKID

A full cast dramatizes the Martín family's eventful 1977 road trip from California's central coast to Jalisco, Mexico, to bring Abuelito back with them. As recounted by third-youngest sibling Pedro, the 2,000-mile journey features plentiful poop jokes, sibling bickering, and references to 1970s pop culture. This audio adaptation of Martín's graphic memoir is a bumpy one. As Pedro, Oscar Fabela makes an unconvincing child, persistently overacting in an apparent attempt to replicate the print edition's broad humor. Much of that depends on the interplay between illustrations and text, and the audiobook's reliance on exaggeration for effect cannot compensate for the loss. Spanish-language dialogue is repeated immediately in English, another jolting artifice. A disappointment--listeners are better served by the print book. V.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2023]