The making of Yolanda la bruja

Black Dominican high school sophomore Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez, a budding bruja, contends with dangerous visions surrounding gun violence at her Bronx school in Avila's suspenseful debut. After Yolanda is tasked with guiding white new student Ben around Julia De Burgos High, she begins to have alarming visions about him and his racist reaction to being classmates with students of color. Fearful of his intentions and eager to prevent any harm from coming to her peers and their school, Yolanda relies on her best friend Victory; her bruja grandmother and spiritual mentor, Mamá Teté; and her ancestors, the Bruja Diosas, to investigate Ben's past and uncover his true motives. Alongside her inquiry, Yolanda balances overwhelm surrounding her father's prison release, her imminent bruja initiation, and a burgeoning romance with a senior basketball player. Avila skillfully cultivates a unique and magical spin on a grounded, socially conscious plot that is rich in Afro-Latinx cultural detail. Yolanda is a boldly characterized protagonist whose intersectional identities as a queer and Deaf person of color informs her sharp-witted narrative voice and conviction around combatting racism within her community. Ages 12--up. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Apr.)

Yolanda Alvarez, just turned sixteen, is coming into her own as a bright student and a budding bruja. Having learned Afro-Dominican ancestral spiritual practices from her grandmother, she follows the guidance of her tarot cards and her Bruja Diosas as she navigates life in the Bronx. In the midst of everyday teenage worries (including not wanting to be âeoetreated like the pretty smart-and-basically-deaf girlâe), Yolanda finds herself grappling with uneasy feelings about a mysterious and wealthy new white student as a vision makes her aware that he is dangerous. A gripping plot drives this deftly written novel that straddles the known and unknown worlds; Avila skillfully depicts the reality of growing up as a Black Latinx teen in the midst of racial violence and social upheaval. While ­outsiders in the story may see Yolandaâe(tm)s family, neighborhood, and school in a ­negative light, Avila carefully demonstrates the tremendous strength in Yolandaâe(tm)s community and the deep roots of her spiritual life, which keep her grounded as she steps into her full power. Monique HarrisMarch/April 2023 p.62 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A teen bruja-in-training receives troubling visions about imminent gun violence at her school. Sixteen-year-old Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez is a Black Dominican American girl raised in the Bronx within a close-knit support system of family and friends. Strongest of all is her bond with her bruja grandmother, Mamá Teté, who acts as Yolanda's mentor in her spiritual journey in communion with their guides and ancestors as part of a long-standing family tradition. As her initiation approaches, Yolanda begins having disturbing visions about Ben, the new student who recently started attending Julia De Burgos High, a White boy with a history of racist behavior. Ben joins the Brave Space Club, the activist group that Yolanda heads, and intentionally causes conflict with the other students. Certain that there is a looming threat to her school, a hitherto welcoming space for students from marginalized communities, Yolanda tries to understand her responsibility as a community organizer and as a bruja before tragedy strikes. Avila's novel is unabashedly political, with a determined, powerful, actively engaged protagonist on a coming-of-age journey that is both distressing and hopeful. It's an intersectional novel both on a personal level--Yolanda is Black, Latina, queer, and deaf (she has cochlear implants)--and in a wider sense as it thoughtfully, candidly engages with racism, violence, and privilege while centering Yolanda's growing bonds of family, community, activism, and spirituality. A remarkable, beautifully rendered debut. (Paranormal. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.