They Call Her Fregona

A Border Kid's Poems

By: David Bowles

Narrated by: Andres Zuno

A companion to the Pura Belpré Honor book They Call Me Güero

“You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she’s tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.

Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.


* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains a glossary of terms from the book.

Critic reviews

Praise for They Call Her Fregona

A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2022
A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Book of 2022
A Tomás Rivera Children's Book Award Finalist
A WASHINGTON DC Three Star Book Award



★ “Sublime.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “An unforgettable companion to They Call Me Güero.”
—School Library Journal, starred review

“Captivating . . . a linguistic feast.”
—Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, for Shelf Awareness