No preguntes de dónde soy / Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

Liliana Cruz, una joven latina de primera generación, quiere encajar a toda costa en su nueva escuela, ubicada en un exclusivo vecindario de Boston. ¿Tendrá que cambiar su identidad, su nombre o hablar diferente para ser aceptada?

Tratando de encontrar respuestas, choca con el muro que su madre ha levantado en casa desde que su padre se fue... otra vez; con el muro que separa a su diverso vecindario de su no tan diversa escuela y con la tensión racial que crece entre sus compañeros.

En el camino, Liliana descubre unos cuantos secretos familiares. Además, aprende que un muro no siempre es una barrera. También puede ser una plataforma para decir su verdad.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

First-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.

Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.

There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.

So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.

But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.
Jennifer De Leon es autora, editora, oradora y profesora de escritura creativa que vive en las afueras de Boston. Es la editora de Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, fue Escritora en Residencia en la Biblioteca Pública de Boston durante el período 2015-2016 y Artista en Residencia de la ciudad de Boston en 2016-2017. También es la segunda receptora de la beca We Need Diverse Books. Es autora de No preguntes de dónde soy / Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From y Sin fronteras / Borderless.

About

Liliana Cruz, una joven latina de primera generación, quiere encajar a toda costa en su nueva escuela, ubicada en un exclusivo vecindario de Boston. ¿Tendrá que cambiar su identidad, su nombre o hablar diferente para ser aceptada?

Tratando de encontrar respuestas, choca con el muro que su madre ha levantado en casa desde que su padre se fue... otra vez; con el muro que separa a su diverso vecindario de su no tan diversa escuela y con la tensión racial que crece entre sus compañeros.

En el camino, Liliana descubre unos cuantos secretos familiares. Además, aprende que un muro no siempre es una barrera. También puede ser una plataforma para decir su verdad.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

First-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.

Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.

There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.

So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.

But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.

Author

Jennifer De Leon es autora, editora, oradora y profesora de escritura creativa que vive en las afueras de Boston. Es la editora de Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, fue Escritora en Residencia en la Biblioteca Pública de Boston durante el período 2015-2016 y Artista en Residencia de la ciudad de Boston en 2016-2017. También es la segunda receptora de la beca We Need Diverse Books. Es autora de No preguntes de dónde soy / Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From y Sin fronteras / Borderless.

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