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adrianagarcia's review against another edition
4.0
I think somewhere just north of 4 stars. I loved this book so much. Each story is rich, descriptive, emotional, and informative in its own way. It centered Afro-Latiné identities and called out the endemic racism and colorism towards dark skin and African heritage in the community. Such intentional and important representation for young readers (I believe the anthology is marketed as YA). It didn't shy away from telling difficult stories and felt completely contextualized in the realities of the past decade. It's an important read for anybody, but I think especially for white and white-passing latinés who need to understand light skin privilege.
The only reason it doesn't hit 5 was the limited space for joy. Each other honored part of their identity and heritage, but the stories focused on the pains and struggles of being Latiné rather than celebrating it. Don't get me wrong, visibility is crucial for change. But there have been many achievements and moments for unity that I felt didn't get any light. Yes, it's difficult to be Latiné in America *especially* if you present non-white. But from the groups of young chicané voters who helped flip elections in 2016/2020 to the unity of boricuas rebuilding their island after Maria and the many invisible achievements Latiné people in making space for themselves, I thought we would get to show off a bit more joy as a community.
Lastly - the term Latinx felt really forced. It was clear that it was an editorial choice to present just one term, which felt counter intuitive to the mission of presenting diversity of experience and identification. One essay touched on the term and I took it that that particular writer wouldn't have used the term Latinx on their own. Latinx is controversial as a term that was popularized by white, academic spaces in an effort to be inclusive but really just ignores linguistic logic for Spanish speaking people. I wish there had been a note about the choice to use this term only.
I will recommend this book over and over again and hope to get a chance to teach it at the high school level.
The only reason it doesn't hit 5 was the limited space for joy. Each other honored part of their identity and heritage, but the stories focused on the pains and struggles of being Latiné rather than celebrating it. Don't get me wrong, visibility is crucial for change. But there have been many achievements and moments for unity that I felt didn't get any light. Yes, it's difficult to be Latiné in America *especially* if you present non-white. But from the groups of young chicané voters who helped flip elections in 2016/2020 to the unity of boricuas rebuilding their island after Maria and the many invisible achievements Latiné people in making space for themselves, I thought we would get to show off a bit more joy as a community.
Lastly - the term Latinx felt really forced. It was clear that it was an editorial choice to present just one term, which felt counter intuitive to the mission of presenting diversity of experience and identification. One essay touched on the term and I took it that that particular writer wouldn't have used the term Latinx on their own. Latinx is controversial as a term that was popularized by white, academic spaces in an effort to be inclusive but really just ignores linguistic logic for Spanish speaking people. I wish there had been a note about the choice to use this term only.
I will recommend this book over and over again and hope to get a chance to teach it at the high school level.
singout's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
jovianjournals's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
A great collection of #ownvoices Latinx short stories giving insights in the broad diaspora of experiences. I enjoyed many of these, especially the ones about struggles with dual identities and figuring out how to belong when you don't visibly appear to fit the stereotypical Latinx mold. A number of these stories address the challenges of Afro-Latinx identities and feeling like they aren't 'enough' in one way or another. There is also a really great story by Elizabeth Acevedo - a favorite author of mine. Overall a really strong collection that should be required reading. Much thanks to Libro.fm for my complimentary ALC!
m0ss's review against another edition
5.0
A powerful, informative, and all around incredible anthology.