{"id":36410,"date":"2019-07-06T20:41:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T00:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36410"},"modified":"2019-07-06T20:41:34","modified_gmt":"2019-07-07T00:41:34","slug":"review-of-yaqui-delgado-wants-to-kick-your-ass-by-meg-medina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36410","title":{"rendered":"Review of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass<\/em><\/p>\n

by Meg Medina<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2013. 260 pages.
\nStarred Review
\n2014 Pura Belpr\u00e9 Award Winner
\nReview written July 5, 2019, from my own copy obtained at 2019 ALA Annual Conference<\/p>\n

A wonderful thing happened at ALA Annual Conference \u2013 as the exhibits were closing, I was able to grab free copies of two of our Newbery winner\u2019s backlist titles. Then, with it in my bag, I did some reading later while waiting in line, so this was the first book I read after the conference.<\/p>\n

The story is told in the voice of Piddy (short for Piedad) Sanchez. It begins with a bang:<\/p>\n

\u201cYaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

A kid named Vanesa tells me this in the morning before school. She springs out with no warning and blocks my way, her textbook held at her chest like a shield. She\u2019s tall like me and caramel. I\u2019ve seen her in the lunchroom, I think. Or maybe just in the halls. It\u2019s hard to remember.<\/p>\n

Then, just like that, Vanesa disappears into the swell of bodies all around.<\/p>\n

Wait,<\/em> I want to tell her as she\u2019s swallowed up. Who is Yaqui Delgado?<\/em> But instead, I stand there blinking as kids jostle for the doors. The bell has rung, and I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s only the warning or if I\u2019m late for first period. Not that it matters. I\u2019ve been at this school for five weeks, and Mr. Fink hasn\u2019t remembered to take attendance once. A girl near his desk just sort of scans the room and marks who\u2019s out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It turns out that Yaqui Delgado is a bully, and Piddy is in real trouble. It starts with small things that Piddy can\u2019t pin on her, such as a chocolate milk thrown in her direction that explodes all over Piddy\u2019s clothes. But Yaqui becomes hyperaware and starts living her life to avoid Yaqui Delgado. Her grades suffer. But she can\u2019t tell her mother what\u2019s really going on. <\/p>\n

If only they could move back to their old neighborhood. But Aunt Lily teaching her to salsa dance may have been what got her into this mess. She\u2019d been walking with a swing in her hips. That will certainly stop, as now she\u2019s living in fear.<\/p>\n

You might think this couldn\u2019t fill a whole book, but it does, and does it well. If nothing else, I learned from this that bullying isn\u2019t simple and doesn\u2019t have simple solutions. And yet it can be overcome.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re with Piddy in her fears, frustrations, and gut-wrenching decisions. And ultimately, you\u2019re with her as she figures out how to rise above the fear.<\/p>\n

This is a lovely book that immersed me in a world I didn\u2019t know. I was touched by the author\u2019s note at the back:<\/p>\n

Years ago, when I was in school, a girl in a rabbit-fur jacket cornered me in the school yard and announced that one of our school bullies was going to beat me up. What I remember most from that time was loneliness and all the risky choices I made as I embarked on the search for a tough-girl shell that could withstand any attack. But as I struggled against the dread of being in school, I became someone else entirely. I hid every talent and interest I had in the hope of appearing fierce and untouchable to the bully and the rest of the world. It was a struggle to find my identity and inner strength \u2013 as a student, as a young woman, as a Latina. I was in a fight for my dignity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meg Medina brings us into this fight for dignity in this beautiful book.<\/p>\n

megmedina.com<\/a>
\ncandlewick.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/yaqui_delgado.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>