Sometimes life explodes in technicolor.
In the spirit of Judy Blume, award-winning author Aida Salazar tells it like it is about puberty, hormones, and first love in this hilarious, heartwarming, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Adib Khorram.
* “Stunning…A story that sings to the soul.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This important and intensely relatable tale perfectly captures the angst of growing up. A true gift to maturing tweens everywhere." -- Ernesto Cisneros, Pura Belpré award-winning author of Efrén Divided
For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change--his body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who's always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend.
But when betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, he doesn't anticipate that a fight to prove his manhood and defend Camelia's honor will lead to dire consequences--or that Camelia's not looking for a savior.
Crackling with comedy and unflinching candor, Ultraviolet digs deep into themes of consent, puberty, masculinity, and the emotional lives of boys, as it challenges stereotypes and offers another way to be in the world. It speaks directly to tweens' and young teens' lived experiences and will make them feel seen.---from the publisher
304 pages 978-1338775655 Ages 10 and up
Keywords: coming of age, humor, consent, toxic behavior, fathers/sons, diversity, diverse books, crush, boys issues, main character male, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, Hispanic and Latino, Latina author
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“We're talking away
I don't know what I'm to say
I'll say it anyway
Today is another day to find you
Shyin' away
Oh, I'll be comin' for your love, okay”
– A-ha, “Take On Me” (1985)
“Ultraviolet
Who invented love, anyway?
Had to be a girl, right?
Had to be.
Cause I don’t get it.
Who can understand
the feelings of shimmering sol
that swallows anything
smart you wanna say
and tangles your blushing
nerves up inside your growling guts
so bad, you almost wanna fart
so bad, your skin turns all goose bumpy?
Just by looking at the brown besos
of her eyes, the embers of her cheeks,
hearing the sound of her voice in the key of F
entering your ears, taking root inside
the blob of your thirteen-year-old dude brain
and washing everything you see
with a reel of colors beyond the spectrum
red,
orange,
yellow,
green,
blue,
indigo,
violet.
More than that.
Ultraviolet.
Glow in the dark outrageous.
It’s what I see when Camelia is around.
Is this what it feels like to be
in love?”
ULTRAVIOLET, a stand-alone companion to Ms. Salizar’s award-winning THE MOON WITHIN (2019), is a tale of eighth-grade love and a stellar introduction to the physiology (and sometimes toxicity) of male adolescence. It’s a tale that begins so beautifully, and never once lets up.
“‘And you are a flower.
My flower, Camelia.’
Camelia scrunches her nose at me
like she is smelling something foul.
Let’s get something straight, Elio.
It’s cool you see all this color
but I’m nobody’s flower,
boys don’t own girls.
My lowrider heart
crashes against
the hydrant of my spine
and I feel like a corny,
stupid junkyard car.
But it revs back up
when she lands a kiss
with her silky soft lips
right on
mine.
Then gives me
a hemp friendship bracelet
she made
just for me.”
But, like most eighth-grade, puppy dog romances, this one is not destined to last. And Elio Solis is going to face bigger challenges than getting Camelia back into his arms again.
Through reading about Elio’s reactions of jealousy, despair, and frustration, guys fortunate enough to find and read this gem will have tools to better understand their rapidly-changing bodies, and to sidestep a lot of the bitterness and antisocial behavior in which Elio engages (and which his mom, several of his good friends, and Camelia all call him on). Elio is fortunate to become part of a father-son men’s circle, and can thereby learn to process so much of what he’s dealing with.
ULTRAVIOLET is a distinguished, lyrical, important, and memorable read for tweens. Particularly, given the tale’s multiple conversations about consent, this one you want to see in every elementary- and middle school collection.
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA
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