Review by Booklist Review
The question of what it takes to make it in a challenging world is a recurring theme in this gorgeously written novel in verse, which wakes readers up to the realities many Puerto Rican teens might face in New York City. Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican living in nineties-era Brooklyn and attending eighth grade, while dealing with the gentrification of her neighborhood and housing insecurity. She's also confronted with the realities of toxic masculinity and a society that does not seem to understand her. While there are some tough themes explored in the book, such as surviving sexual assault, they're all treated with poetic grace, and readers will easily become invested in Sarai's journey to find herself and the strength she shows in the face of adversity. Velasquez's debut will teach young women, in particular, that they can make it through tough times and learn to embrace their identities and backgrounds, face society, and put themselves first. A beautiful story with deep messages that will have lasting effects.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Sarai is a Nuyorican (Puerto Rican born in New York City) teen growing up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with her sister, Estrella, and their Mami. Seeking clarity about her identity, she wonders if she is Puerto Rican enough since she wasn't born on the island. Her Spanish is a work in progress. Although she doesn't always have the words to express herself, emotions are bubbling at the surface as she struggles with poverty, Mami's mental illness, gentrification of her neighborhood, and more. In this novel-in-verse, Velasquez provides a candidly fierce voice as Sarai finds her own. The author celebrates the teen's story unapologetically, with passion and respect. Exquisite poetry portrays not only anger and fear, but also hope, as "making it" may encompass a range of results. Layered themes unfold as Sarai's sojourn continues. Readers will find themselves empathizing with certain characters at different times and will root for Sarai to survive and proclaim her own story with intention: "Mami taught me how lethal a woman's mouth could be. How my mouth is an open wound. A pocket that stores the weapon." The book explores mental illness, poverty, misogyny, colorism, sexual assault, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, gun violence, and pregnancy loss. VERDICT Gripping and soulful, this dynamic debut novel-in-verse is a must for every collection.--Lisa Krok, Morley Lib., Cleveland, OH
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Review by Horn Book Review
Drawing on her experience growing up in 1990s Brooklyn, debut author Velasquez paints a complex portrait of a strong-voiced teen in this compelling verse novel. Sarai, thirteen when the story begins, is poised to be the first person in her family to "make it" -- to reach her potential, finish school, and leave Bushwick someday. But Sarai is skeptical: "If we can't take no one with us? / Isn't that just running away from everything that / made us?" The candid, clear-eyed poetry contains powerful inquiries about her diasporic Nuyorican identity and canny observations about the endemic social and racial inequities that surround her. As Sarai moves on to high school, her single mami shuffles their family from address to address, and the refrigerator is rarely full. Sarai and others in her family have unintended pregnancies, which bring complications including postpartum depression. Frank, provocatively titled poems chronicle the family's struggles ("We're Sorry the Welfare Office Is Closed and Will Reopen When You Have No Bus Fare to Get Here"), while others capture everyday joys with a buoyant, electric energy ("If Being Boricua in Brooklyn Is a Feeling -- It's the Best Kind"). Together, these vignettes capture Sarai's multilayered, heart-rending, and hopeful coming of age. An afterword identifies those poems written in conversation with works by Cisneros, Woodson, Mariposa, and other greats. Jessica Tackett MacDonald January/February 2022 p.125(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In 1990s Bushwick, Brooklyn, 14-year-old Sarai tries to make sense of herself, her neighborhood, and the world she is growing up in. Sarai is the youngest of three kids born to a single mother who survived domestic violence and who fights tooth and nail to keep her kids fed and alive. Velasquez's debut novel is a collection of raw ruminations that together form Sarai's heart-wrenching, honest, and critical narrative. With an in-your-face, call-everything-out flavor, the poetry begs to be read out loud to appreciate the full force of its rhythmic cadence and thought-provoking, sophisticated critiques. These include pointed commentary on teachers who work but don't live in Bushwick and newspapers that only tell one side of the story. Velasquez, a Bushwick native herself, tells a real, on-the-block narrative of the neighborhood through Sarai, with biting pieces that masterfully weave themes of religion, street life, sexual assault, language, poverty, the complexities of Boricua/Puerto Rican/Nuyorican identity, and so much more. Nine of the pieces are "poems in conversation" with ones written by Jacqueline Woodson, Sandra Cisneros, Nikki Giovanni, Nuyorican poet Mariposa, and others. This element, coupled with the diversity of poetic forms, from blackout poetry to stream of consciousness, makes this a gem for pleasure reading as well as classroom use. All primary characters are Puerto Rican. Raw, breathtaking, and brilliant. (author's note, "poems in conversation" credits) (Verse novel. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
