Hugo and I

During eighth grade, we had to write a book report about a chapter book. It was a standard book report, the one rule was that we connected with it. I chose “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick. I came to the U.S. when I was nine and only spoke Spanish. Somehow, I was placed in a class where it was all in English. However, I was taken out once a week to read a piece of paper with numbers on the side to see how many words per minute I read. They made it seem like the key to speaking English was reading, so I did just that, or well tried.

Our teacher started reading Hugo Cabret. I would get confused by the words that she would say but thanks to the images I could put the story together. With the few English words I knew I would ask her questions, which I would later regret because I still could not understand. Yet, it felt good to know I had something to ask. In the end, we never finished the book. We started to do a reading club activity with the whole school and the teacher never got around it again.

During sixth grade, in a library visit, I saw the book. I was excited and confused because I thought it was only for elementary schools. My English was better I even had taken myself out of Bilingual classes and thought that maybe this time I would understand it fully. The story is about a French boy whose dad has passed away and has nowhere to go. He hides and tries to fix a mysterious machine using clues left behind by his dad. Throughout the story, he phases hostility, friendship, fear, and loneliness many things I could relate to. Being in a new country sometimes people would grow frustrated that I did not know all the words as I would myself for not understanding. I met my elementary best friend by her coming up to me and saying “Hi, would you like to be my best friend?”. I felt fear whenever my parents would take us anywhere and say “What does this say?” when I had no idea myself. I felt lonely when my parents and sister were elsewhere and I realized that without them I knew no one. Hugo Cabret was a combination of images and words. The sentences were short and clear, they made sense to a one-year immigrant. The images were vibrant even in black and white filled with details that evoked all of the emotions in me that I needed to be reassured that everything, eventually, would be okay.

It turned out that I could not do my report on a book I had read before, therefore, I had to find a new book. I chose “Wonderstruck” also by Brian Selznick which is also a great story. I might not have done the book report on the book I originally wanted but it is always there to remind me that no matter the challenge Hugo and I have gotten through it before.