Starred review from February 13, 2023
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.
March 1, 2023
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 "treated like the pretty smart-and-basically-deaf girl"), 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 Yolanda's family, neighborhood, and school in a negative light, Avila carefully demonstrates the tremendous strength in Yolanda's community and the deep roots of her spiritual life, which keep her grounded as she steps into her full power. Monique Harris
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from April 15, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Yolanda Alvarez studies the spiritual traditions of her ancestors under the tutelage of her paternal grandmother, Mam� Tet�. As Yolanda, who has begun to receive visions, waits for her full initiation, she attends tenth grade in the Bronx, where she leads the Brave Space club, tentatively flirts with a senior basketball star, and uses an implant processor to more clearly hear the world around her. When a white, progressive politician sends his son to Yolanda's public high school, where people like Black, Dominican Yolanda are the norm, Yolanda tries to give white, smooth-talking Ben the benefit of the doubt. But though he's quick to apologize when he causes harm, his actions never seem to change. More troublingly, Yolanda is having increasingly violent visions about Ben, but how can she warn the people around her when no one will understand or trust the source of her knowledge? Magic is woven into Yolanda's life and belief system, though this is not presented as a fantasy. It's a sharply rendered portrait of a girl on the intersections who, in learning that the systems of the world will not protect her, struggles with when and how to use her voice--and with how to know when the fight is no longer her responsibility. Warmly characterized, particularly in its intergenerational and student-teacher relationships, Avila's striking debut is not to be missed.
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Starred review from February 1, 2023
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, Mam� Tet�, 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(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from September 22, 2023
Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Yolanda Alvarez had her first vision as a little girl. She has grown and received training from her grandmother, Mam� Tet�, who helps her navigate her spiritual journey and has taught her everything she knows about the Unknowns-ancestors who guide them and help them use their gifts. Just as Yolanda is entering an important time in her initiation-when an Unknown will select her to guide her-she receives a vision about a new student, Ben, one of the only white students in the school. Yolanda believes Ben is going to do something to harm the school, but afraid that she will not be able to prove it, she attempts to reach out to Ben herself. Readers will share in Yolanda's feelings of uncertainty as she tries to find out more about Ben's intentions, until it becomes clear that Yolanda's visions harbor the truth, and that Ben's actions are rooted in sinister racist beliefs. The Afro-Dominican teen attempts to carry the weight of what is happening on her own, leading to a heartbreaking climax. The narrative is thoughtful and gripping, and Avila has created a complex heroine whose identities as a Deaf and queer person of color give a layer of authenticity and intersectionality that will resonate with readers. VERDICT Readers will enjoy getting to know Yolanda, her diverse Dominican family, and her unique friends and supportive community in this lyrical debut novel that will open up important and difficult discussions about race, activism, and loss.-Selenia Paz
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2023
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 "treated like the pretty smart-and-basically-deaf girl"), 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 Yolanda's family, neighborhood, and school in a negative light, Avila carefully demonstrates the tremendous strength in Yolanda's community and the deep roots of her spiritual life, which keep her grounded as she steps into her full power.
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)