This book was incredible. It was just so well explored and thoughtful. a must read. I wish I had this book in college/grad school.

This book has been a great reading experience. Thanks to the author and the publisher for bringing this book to life.

Catching up on reviews so... Thanks to NetGalley and Seal Press for access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wish I had this book when I was in my teens/early twenties because maybe it would have helped me embrace my Latina side. Yes, there were a lot of things that I didn't identify with because I'm white passing, don't have immigrant parents, etc. but there is such important information and discourse here that I could overlook that it wasn't exactly my story. Because of that I think that this is an important book for everyone to read, maybe it will help people understand each other better. Or at least get conversations going.

This is an absolute must read! I am not a big nonfiction reader, but I felt so connected to every chapter in this book. I would recommend this to anyone in their late teens/ early twenties who have experienced imposter syndrome, feeling left our in academic/ professional spaces, and the pressures to excel in all spaces. This is a book that I will be returning to.

I’ve read multiple books on feminism, womanism, and the femme experience. I really enjoyed this book as it gave me insight into my Latina Sisters. As a Black Woman, I could relate to her experience with Colorism and Imposter Syndrome among other topics in the book like The Male Gaze and Toxic Masculinity; however, I was able to learn a lot about Voluntourism and Decoloniality.

However, there were parts of this book that felt like a chore. It took me three different attempts to be able to do this review. I’m not sure why it was, but I kept falling out of this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was incredible. It was just so well explored and thoughtful. Prisca Borcas Mojica Rodriguez is a real one. She pulls no punches but also has this deep love for herself and her community. Hard won love and clarity. She’s got education for days and provides education for dayssss. I loved this book.

The title of this book was definitely what caught my attention, but I enjoyed it for so much more than that. Each chapter touches on a different challenge faced by brown girls, a few of which include voluntourism, colorism, toxic masculinity, and decoloniality. The author breaks down these topics and more and shares the wisdom and knowledge she has found as a brown woman. She writes thoughtfully and clearly on each topic she touches on, making it clear that she believes in the democratization of information.

This is such a good book, and I very much appreciated not only its contents but the fact that I was so specifically the intended audience for it. There were so many moments when I related to little details in this book that I'd never heard anyone else talk about or seen mentioned in a book before.

Brown Girl, this world does not want to see you survive it, so defy it and dare to thrive

This book was stunningly brilliant. Never have I read a book that so perfectly encapsulates the experiences and feelings of being a POC in a Westernised world. Prisca is an Indigenous WOC born in Managua, Nicaragua. She describes her life experiences after immigrating to the US and how at first she felt she had to fit into the dominant white gaze.

It was so great to find a book that focuses on brown people without discounting the experiences of black people. From discussing her lived experiences of academia, racism, sexualising, familial relationships and abuse, the white male gaze and decoloniality, Prisca shifts her readers persepctive to bring to light the injustices and harmful narratives formed by white people about BIPOC people.

I really encourage you to read this, as you will learn a lot about marginalised communities and the society we live in.

This is a wonderful beginner book for people, specifically women, of color on social justice and structural discrimination. It is accessible and easy to understand. I would strongly recommend it to teenagers or young adults, especially. My only gripe with this book is that the author dismisses critical race theory (and theoretical work in general) as inaccessible and difficult to understand. She does have a point but that doesn't mean those theories don't have value. Their difficulty is due to their specificity and complexity. And actually, that inaccessibility is the gap this book fills - its an introductory text which I was hoping would better prepare its readers to engage with social justice thinking on a deeper, more involved level. But it dismisses the people who are doing that thinking as "inaccessible."

Overall, its a well-written book with some amazing ideas. I would give it to many teenagers in my circle. But I would also pair it with a "further reading" list.

WOW! I didn’t think it was possible to relate to a book so much. Prisca talks about things that I can’t imagine saying out loud out of fear of what people might think.
Everyone should read this book. It’s full of what it means to be a Woman of Color.

I love the rawness that Prisca provided in this. It's something ever woman of color should read.

"Adulthood as a woman of color required that I harden myself and keep my heart shielded."

As a brown girl myself, I found reading this book one of my most liberating experiences.

This is a collection of real events most brown girls have gone through at some point in their life, along with proper schooling of what many BIPOC live with daily. The writing is inspiring, striking; basically, the guide every young adult brown woman should have in the repertoire to find new pieces of themselves.

I felt deeply connected to Prisca's life, some positive and some negatives aspects of it. I thank her because she will alternate many girl's lives for the better. Her book will spark the fly to an untamable fire in those girl's hearts. A fire so warm and beautiful it will inherently invite others along.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book excelled at describing the experiences of Latina women while empowering them to tell their own stories. A lot of the stories told are applicable to all women of color and I hope everyone reads it.

WOW. What a book!

Totally unapologetic about her background and this is exactly how I feel how books should be. The author is clear that she is an ethnic minority writing a book for ethnic minorities, so stuck she is to this that she uses the words that fit her mouth the best (Spanish) which she does not explain nor does she italicise. I love that about this. Those who wrote classics did not write them for black or brown people and I think it's high time books were written for us an audience and for other people after.

I absolutely loved this book, it spoke to me so much and I wish I had this book when I was in my formative years. I will be buying a hardcopy version of this book.

4/5

Never in my life have I read a book that reflected such similar experiences to those that I have gone through. As a Latina daughter of immigrants, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez excellently captures my struggles and that of other Brown and Black women. She covers topics such as colorism, feminism, and societal values through beautiful and moving writing. I was blown away and truly recommend this eye-opening piece. Especially to my fellow women of color, this love letter powerfully arms us with tools to maneuver life on our own terms.
Positives:
- Rodriguez is an excellent writer. There were some sections that were so smooth and lyrical in their expression,
making the message truly impactful.
- It is clear that the author writes from the heart. The book was passionate and raw with memory and experiences.
This creates a wonderful connection with the audience.
- All the topics discussed were relevant and honest conversations. Every chapter was relatable to Rodriguez’s
intended audience.
Negatives:
- The reading grew tedious at times when the author continuously explored and emphasized every single point.
This lead to a loss of attention to the story.
Overall, Rodriguez has crafted an exquisite and liberating novel that I believe many will enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing company for this arc!

Where do I begin? I am not LatinX but I am a brown girl so I definitely looked forward to reading this book because...hey...even if their are nuances the bottom line is the same. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such an uplifting and insightful read in the authors deal with topical issues like sexism, racism, imposter syndrome (I can definitely identify) and the like! Can't wait to share this with my friends and my niece