3.5/5 Stars

Celina and her family are proud Mexican Americans. The teachers and other children don't appreciate Celina's heritage the way she does. She finds her voice through writing and poetry.

A beautiful middle grade novel written in verse that cover difficult topics such as racism, BLM, COVID and deportation of family. I loved Celina's family and how supportive they were of her. The book is VERY fast - and you can fly through it in under an hour.

I enjoyed the characters in this novel and the writing is excellent--full of emotion and energy. The plot never really had much to it and the point of view character never showed any signs of flaws, just reacting to discrimination. I understand the importance behind this novel, but didn't feel it communicated more than telling about the stereotypical "white" person's racial bias towards anyone else.

“I am named Guerrera, warrior, for a reason. Because I am meant to be a warrior too. Meant to be. And AM!”
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Celina and her family are Mexican American and proud of their heritage, even when the teachers and kids at her school don’t appreciate her culture. Lucky for Celina she has a supportive family and great friends who stand with her when things in the world become difficult such as her father being deported to Mexico, COVID, and BLM movement increasing.
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This was such a beautiful MG novel in verse that I really enjoyed listening to on audiobook. Several moments particularly stood out to me such as the teachers refusing to pronounce Celina’s name correctly, her father’s second deportation and the uncertainty from day to day during COVID. @officialcarmentafolla captured it all so perfectly and despite all these challenges, Celina was positive and stood strong in her beliefs. Kids like her will change the world. Plus it’s set right by me in San Antonio!

CW: COVID theme, racism, police brutality, immigration issues, microaggressions