Scan barcode
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass has been on my TBR for YEARS people. It was honestly about damn time for to jump into this. Luckily, for me that is, it ended up working for some of my challenges.
The characters throughout this were okay. I liked them for the post part but wasn't completely invested if I'm being honest here. It probably doesn't help that I wasn't in love with the main character either. Then there's the drama and rumors which left me slightly confused at times. Especially in the beginning because I didn't all the information that I wanted.
Other than that, it was an okay book with an okay ending. Definitely wasn't expecting it that way and I'm not sure how I really feel about it either. I guess, in a way, I'm disappointed due to how it all seemed to rush by. Still, I'm happy that I finally dove into this and knocked it off of my TBR.
The characters throughout this were okay. I liked them for the post part but wasn't completely invested if I'm being honest here. It probably doesn't help that I wasn't in love with the main character either. Then there's the drama and rumors which left me slightly confused at times. Especially in the beginning because I didn't all the information that I wanted.
Other than that, it was an okay book with an okay ending. Definitely wasn't expecting it that way and I'm not sure how I really feel about it either. I guess, in a way, I'm disappointed due to how it all seemed to rush by. Still, I'm happy that I finally dove into this and knocked it off of my TBR.
cathiedalziel's review against another edition
3.0
Story about highschool bullying and trying to find courage in oneself. I feel it could have been better, but it was not bad. Perhaps if i were a teenage / early twenties gal I might have liked it more. The storyline between family members (mother, daughter, aunt) were done well. I also liked that bullying was a topic taken seriously, but was upset that domestic violence was not dealt with in the same pro active way.
erincataldi's review against another edition
3.0
A really good coming of age novel for teens. Specifically Latina and female teens. Meg Medina does a great job writing for teens, I felt like a teen reading it, she really inhibited the teen mind. Pissy Sanchez already has it tough when she finds out someone named Yaqui Delgado wants to kick her ass. Piddy is already pissed that her mom made them move and now she has to attend a new school and she is separated from her best friend. Now to top it off, a fellow Latina at her new school apparently doesn't like the way that Piddy shakes her rear while she walks and wants to beat her up. This teen novel does a great job explore the intricacies of going through puberty, heartbreak, teen friendships, self-esteem, and parental struggles.
jwinchell's review against another edition
4.0
Oooh, I really liked this one!
I've been thinking a lot about my frustration with my teen students--why don't they care about x? Why does it take them so long to do y? All of this is classroom stuff, of course, and those questions make me realize that I am very firmly AN ADULT and that I quite often lose touch with adolescent perspectives. In that sense, this was the perfect book for me to read.
I read YA because it helps me... to remember the turmoil of adolescence; to feel again that sense of being totally stuck and alone even when adults are saying they can/want to help you; to realize that what to adults seem like small problems with simple solutions are might actually be life-changing situations that are rife with decisions that are slowly/quickly helping you take steps toward who you are; to see with fresh eyes how tricky some life situations can be and that most teens are in the process of either letting them define who they are/what they can do or are using them to rise up and do what they determine what they think is important.
This isn't great literature, but it does all of the above. It also means that I still will be one of those adults who constantly remind kids to focus on their education and that help is right here; it just also means that while I'm doing all of that (which is often exhausting and frustrating), I will do my best to remember that bildungsroman is all-consuming and is usually ugly.
I also really love that the POV is a 1st generation Cuban immigrant living in Queens, surrounded by strong women, involved with a boy who is only a small part of the story and is not part of the solution. I also love how there are multiple solutions to Piddy's problem, and that she thinks about the pros/cons of them in order to make her own decision.
I've been thinking a lot about my frustration with my teen students--why don't they care about x? Why does it take them so long to do y? All of this is classroom stuff, of course, and those questions make me realize that I am very firmly AN ADULT and that I quite often lose touch with adolescent perspectives. In that sense, this was the perfect book for me to read.
I read YA because it helps me... to remember the turmoil of adolescence; to feel again that sense of being totally stuck and alone even when adults are saying they can/want to help you; to realize that what to adults seem like small problems with simple solutions are might actually be life-changing situations that are rife with decisions that are slowly/quickly helping you take steps toward who you are; to see with fresh eyes how tricky some life situations can be and that most teens are in the process of either letting them define who they are/what they can do or are using them to rise up and do what they determine what they think is important.
This isn't great literature, but it does all of the above. It also means that I still will be one of those adults who constantly remind kids to focus on their education and that help is right here; it just also means that while I'm doing all of that (which is often exhausting and frustrating), I will do my best to remember that bildungsroman is all-consuming and is usually ugly.
I also really love that the POV is a 1st generation Cuban immigrant living in Queens, surrounded by strong women, involved with a boy who is only a small part of the story and is not part of the solution. I also love how there are multiple solutions to Piddy's problem, and that she thinks about the pros/cons of them in order to make her own decision.
retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition
4.0
A really tough book about bullying, real serious bullying, involving physical beating as well as other kinds of intimidation. Piddy Sanchez is in a new home and new school, and things don't go well. Yaqui claims that Piddy is after her boyfriend, and she and her "gang" work to make her life miserable. Piddy goes it alone, telling no one, truly afraid of what would happen if she "squealed". Eventually she ends up in detention and has to come clean to the school administration and her mother. The solution is realistic. There is a secondary story about her friend who is in an abusive home and eventually gets sent to other family in another state. This book has been challenged and even banned, because of its title as much as anything.
mellabella's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. This book had been on my list for a little while. I should have read it sooner.
Piddy is a character that you will root for. You'll feel a visceral dislike for the aforementioned Yaqui Delgado as she and her group of friends harasses Piddy.
I wouldn't pay to be 15, 16 again.
Some of us had a Yaqui. Some of us had an absent parent and another parent rearing us that might not have been born in the US.
Dealing with all the feeling of heading towards young adulthood, school, boys, your body changing (or not) AND dealing with a bully as a teenage girl? All the while your best friend moves further away and seems to not have time for you anymore?
The writing is so good and real... This was a realistic look at bullying. An authentic voice of a teenage girl just trying to make it through high school. Once an honor student, the bullying changes that.
Curious about her father who left when her mother was pregnant...
I loved Piddy's mom and her best friend Lila. They seemed real enough to jump out of the pages.
It had a satisfying ending. BUT I would have loved an epilogue telling us how Joey was doing.
4.5 stars
Piddy is a character that you will root for. You'll feel a visceral dislike for the aforementioned Yaqui Delgado as she and her group of friends harasses Piddy.
I wouldn't pay to be 15, 16 again.
Some of us had a Yaqui. Some of us had an absent parent and another parent rearing us that might not have been born in the US.
Dealing with all the feeling of heading towards young adulthood, school, boys, your body changing (or not) AND dealing with a bully as a teenage girl? All the while your best friend moves further away and seems to not have time for you anymore?
The writing is so good and real... This was a realistic look at bullying. An authentic voice of a teenage girl just trying to make it through high school. Once an honor student, the bullying changes that.
Curious about her father who left when her mother was pregnant...
I loved Piddy's mom and her best friend Lila. They seemed real enough to jump out of the pages.
It had a satisfying ending. BUT I would have loved an epilogue telling us how Joey was doing.
4.5 stars
steel_city_peach's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Authentic
I enjoyed this coming of age story because it touched on some important issues. Piddy dealt with the overwhelming reaction to her adolescent body developing into something a lot more curvaceous. It brought so much unwanted attention. That is what so many of us faced as we navigated our teens. It brought about jealousy and bullying from Yaqui Delgado. That was very relatable. The author addressed how some Latin kids can be alienated by their peers because they “don’t look Latin enough”. The story also focused on the angst of outgrowing childhood friends and budding courtships. I love that the author didn’t sugarcoat any of these things. She provided a raw and realistic depiction of what teenagers go through.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
5.0
Full review at: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=3861
This book makes you feel. As Yaqui fills Piddy’s world with fear, Piddy begins to lose herself and get caught up in the terror. As a reader, you find yourself afraid with Piddy whenever she leaves her house, goes to school, or even thinks about doing either. A book that can do this is brilliant. Meg Medina has a way of sucking you into the world, and I think it is her use of imagery throughout. You can see the characters, hear the music Piddy listens to, feel the fear, etc. And Piddy’s voice is so crystal clear, that is something she never loses. When you finish reading, you can still hear Piddy’s voice in your head. I also feel that this is a wonderful diverse book in a time when the YA community is calling for diverse books (http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/). This one should be in high school classrooms, and should be discussed as it has such important themes and beautiful writing (no matter what anyone thinks about it! http://megmedina.com/2013/09/04/author-uninvited-a-school-decides-im-trouble/).
This book makes you feel. As Yaqui fills Piddy’s world with fear, Piddy begins to lose herself and get caught up in the terror. As a reader, you find yourself afraid with Piddy whenever she leaves her house, goes to school, or even thinks about doing either. A book that can do this is brilliant. Meg Medina has a way of sucking you into the world, and I think it is her use of imagery throughout. You can see the characters, hear the music Piddy listens to, feel the fear, etc. And Piddy’s voice is so crystal clear, that is something she never loses. When you finish reading, you can still hear Piddy’s voice in your head. I also feel that this is a wonderful diverse book in a time when the YA community is calling for diverse books (http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/). This one should be in high school classrooms, and should be discussed as it has such important themes and beautiful writing (no matter what anyone thinks about it! http://megmedina.com/2013/09/04/author-uninvited-a-school-decides-im-trouble/).
brandypainter's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina won much praise and awards when it was released last year. It has also earned more than its fair share of controversy as people have tried to remove it from library shelves and disinvite Ms. Medina from author visits due to its contents. I am happy to say I've finally read, and it deserves every bit of praise it's received and more besides.
I had strong visceral reactions to this book. Tension, fear I could taste. I felt sick to my stomach in several places. The writing is so emotive I think anyone will experience some similar feelings. Mine were was even stronger because I transferred from a relatively safe academically driven high school to a high school with more gangs, drugs, and violence between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I know how it feels to be scared when you walk down the halls when that's not something you've ever experienced before. I know that desire Piddy feels to keep her head down, vanish, become nothing to save herself from being noticed. I don't know what it's like to actually be a specific target though, and watching Piddy's life unravel as the bullying got worse and worse was so hard.
One could say that this is an "issue book", a book about bullying to build empathy for those who may experience it and to educate everyone on what it looks like and the effect it can have. It is that. But more importantly, it is a book about a person. Piddy is smart and she has plans for her life. Plans she begins to throw away one at a time as she is further victimized. With few words and just showing Piddy's life, Medina paints a vivid picture of how terror can break a person and break them to pieces, more than just the physical results of a beating. Piddy's story is more than just the story of her problems with Yaqui Delgado though. It is about her strained relationship with her mother, further strained by the events presently occurring. It is about her relationship with her best friend, changing by absence after so many years of closeness. It is about her relationship with her mom's best friend, who is like her aunt and is her confidant. It is about her relationship with her community. All these work together to bring the setting and story alive without requiring a whole lot of description.
The book is also in many ways, the story of Yaqui Delgado. I really liked that Medina made no attempt at the whole redeemed bully story here. Yaqui is not a pleasant person. She is hardened. She is mean. But by simply presenting the facts of the world in which she lives, Medina highlights how the system is failing kids like Yaqui. It shows how truly overwhelmed, exhausted, and hand tied the school workers are when dealing with too large a population of students that they don't have the resources to help.
While not an easy book to read, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is an important book to read and one I look forward to sharing with my daughter in a few years.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina won much praise and awards when it was released last year. It has also earned more than its fair share of controversy as people have tried to remove it from library shelves and disinvite Ms. Medina from author visits due to its contents. I am happy to say I've finally read, and it deserves every bit of praise it's received and more besides.
I had strong visceral reactions to this book. Tension, fear I could taste. I felt sick to my stomach in several places. The writing is so emotive I think anyone will experience some similar feelings. Mine were was even stronger because I transferred from a relatively safe academically driven high school to a high school with more gangs, drugs, and violence between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I know how it feels to be scared when you walk down the halls when that's not something you've ever experienced before. I know that desire Piddy feels to keep her head down, vanish, become nothing to save herself from being noticed. I don't know what it's like to actually be a specific target though, and watching Piddy's life unravel as the bullying got worse and worse was so hard.
One could say that this is an "issue book", a book about bullying to build empathy for those who may experience it and to educate everyone on what it looks like and the effect it can have. It is that. But more importantly, it is a book about a person. Piddy is smart and she has plans for her life. Plans she begins to throw away one at a time as she is further victimized. With few words and just showing Piddy's life, Medina paints a vivid picture of how terror can break a person and break them to pieces, more than just the physical results of a beating. Piddy's story is more than just the story of her problems with Yaqui Delgado though. It is about her strained relationship with her mother, further strained by the events presently occurring. It is about her relationship with her best friend, changing by absence after so many years of closeness. It is about her relationship with her mom's best friend, who is like her aunt and is her confidant. It is about her relationship with her community. All these work together to bring the setting and story alive without requiring a whole lot of description.
The book is also in many ways, the story of Yaqui Delgado. I really liked that Medina made no attempt at the whole redeemed bully story here. Yaqui is not a pleasant person. She is hardened. She is mean. But by simply presenting the facts of the world in which she lives, Medina highlights how the system is failing kids like Yaqui. It shows how truly overwhelmed, exhausted, and hand tied the school workers are when dealing with too large a population of students that they don't have the resources to help.
While not an easy book to read, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is an important book to read and one I look forward to sharing with my daughter in a few years.
maryehavens's review against another edition
4.0
I started this book much like Piddy - no clue what to expect. I thought it was a typical YA story centered around high school. I was surprised it was so visceral in Yaqui’s pursuit of Piddy for no reason except the reasons Leela gave.
It just wasn’t fair but that was the point.
Medina did a great job with the characters and the complexity of the situation, especially with Piddy starting a new school. The voices of the characters were very authentic, imo.
We’ve all witnessed, and maybe participated in or were the victim of, bullying. In this situation, I think the right steps were taken. I really thought Piddy was going to get in that bus! Glad she didn’t and that Leela was there to turn her around/give her perspective.
It just wasn’t fair but that was the point.
Medina did a great job with the characters and the complexity of the situation, especially with Piddy starting a new school. The voices of the characters were very authentic, imo.
We’ve all witnessed, and maybe participated in or were the victim of, bullying. In this situation, I think the right steps were taken. I really thought Piddy was going to get in that bus! Glad she didn’t and that Leela was there to turn her around/give her perspective.