PURA BELPRÉ AUTHOR HONOR AWARD • In this powerful novel in verse, a Texan teen fights against racism and book banning efforts in her town by creating a theatre club that speaks up and speaks out.
“A powerful love letter to finding and using your voice.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The perfect read for teens who are being impacted by book banning and other sociopolitical changes.”—Booklist, starred review
Yulieta Lopez is accustomed to playing various roles: the diligent daughter, the honorable hija, the good girl who swallows the flames in her throat before they burn anyone. But the fire inside Yuli is spreading, and she can no longer be silent.
Because Yuli is angry. Angry at the school board threatening to ban books that made Yuli feel seen. Angry that she has to keep quiet until she can head to college and leave Texas forever. And angry at her racist drama teacher who refuses to cast Black students in lead roles. Determined to fight back, Yuli and her friends start a guerrilla theater club, which stirs things up and gets people talking, and finally, Yuli steps into the role she was always meant to play.
This powerful novel in verse is a timely story of resistance, a raw reflection of righteous anger in an unjust world, and a reminder that sometimes, the only way to be heard is to speak up and take center stage.
AN INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION NOTABLE BOOK FOR A GLOBAL SOCIETY
On sale: September 16, 2025
Age: 12 and up
Grade: Grade 7 & Up
Page count: 336 Pages
ISBN: 9780593531877
Reading level: Lexile: NP
Jasminne Mendez is two-time Pura Belpré Honor Award recipient and a Dominican-American poet, playwright and author of several books for children and adults. She is also a poet, playwright, translator, and professional audiobook narrator. Her book
Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Dial), a novel in verse about a young girl diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, received starred reviews from
Kirkus Reviews,
Publishers Weekly,
School Library Journal and others. Her YA memoir,
Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American (Arte Público Press) and her debut poetry collection,
City Without Altar (Noemi Press), were recently recognized with honors and awards by the Texas Institute of Letters and her debut picture book
Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Público Press) was the 2022 Writer’s League of Texas Children’s Book Discovery Prize Winner. She has translated Amanda Gorman’s best-selling picture books
Change Sings (
La canción del cambio) and
Something, Someday (Algo, algún día), the best selling picture book
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water (El proyecto 1619: Nacieron sobre el agua) by Nikole Hannah Jones and Reneé Watson and the Pura Belpré Award Winning graphic novel
Frizzy (
Rizos) by Claribel Ortega.
“A powerful love letter to finding and using your voice, this story will resonate deeply with those who struggle to feel seen and nurtured, particularly young women of color . . . A compelling drama with a firecracker protagonist that stuns with its strikingly beautiful writing.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The perfect read for teens who are being impacted by book banning and other sociopolitical changes.”
—Booklist, starred review“Mendez's poetry flows effortlessly, fully realizing Yuli's struggles and joy . . . A must-have for all YA collections.”
—School Library Journal
“This poignant novel . . . marries verse poems with playwriting in a narrative that centers timely questions about banned books and free speech. Passionate text that braids together Spanish and English deftly depicts Yuli’s journey from an aspiring actor in the wings of the real world to the fearless “leading lady” of her own life.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Both timely and disheartening in its realism, the book ends with a hopeful note about the significance of unheard stories that need to be told.”
—BCCB
