My Thoughts:
This debut novel-in-verse is fire, Fire, FIRE! Ms. Velasquez has been writing this for a while. The result is a deep love for community, for neighbors, for self-efficacy gained over time. This is this generation's House on Mango Street for readers and for teachers. As a teacher who has used House in every grade level I have taught in, 6th to college, there are many similar themes and pieces (vignettes/poems) between these authors, like "Sarai" and "My Name," and "If You Care To Look Closely" with "Those Who Don't."
If You Care to Look Closely
The war on drugs
is also a war on people.
But in Bushwick,
no one cares to look closely.
As a mentor text the voice of Sarai, the narrator in these poems, is very much like Esperanza in House in that it is authentic and fresh. The untranslated lines and images makes this a necessary mirror for some readers and a sliding glass door for other readers. Our classrooms need this now to model student writing that is full of authentic voice and the rhythm of home. These poems sound more hip-hop and the immigrant experience and systemic racism are clear without this being a pity party and sob story. I have fierce love for this!
From the Publishers:
Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican eighth grader who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has been denied.
When We Make It is a love letter to anyone who was taught to believe that they would not make it. To those who feel their emotions before they can name them. To those who still may not have all the language but they have their story. Velasquez’ debut novel is sure to leave an indelible mark on all who read it.
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