The award-winning author of Re Jane makes her young adult debut in a funny, poignant, and powerful novel about a multicultural teen struggling to fit into her whitewashed school, her diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home as her family reels from the loss of her father.
Alejandra Kim doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her súper Spanish name and súper Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she’s not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome. And things at home have only gotten worse since Papi's body was discovered on the subway tracks.
Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder University. But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight—and into a discussion she didn’t ask for—Ale must discover what is means to carve out a space for yourself to belong.
Patricia Park’s coming-of-age novel about a multicultural teen caught between worlds, and the future she is building for herself, is an incisive, laugh-out-loud, provocative read.---from the publisher
304 pages 978-0593563373 Ages 13 and up
Keywords: coming of age, diversity, diverse books, teens, humor, fitting in, belonging, inclusivity, bullying, prejudice and racism, 13 year old, 14 year old, 15 year old, social conditions
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Other reviews:
“...A dazzling YA debut...that is deep, real and scathingly funny.” —Gayle Forman, New York Times best-selling author of IF I STAY.
“...brimming with insights while being un-put-downable and just plain fun. Simply brilliant!”-David Yoon, New York Times best-selling author of FRANKLY IN LOVE
