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jshettel's review against another edition
4.0
I guess I thought this book was going to be funny, but it was actually pretty sad. An inside look at bullying and how the situation can quickly spiral out of control.
scorpstar77's review against another edition
4.0
Piddy is a little bit miserable: Her best friend moved away and is going to some fancy private school; her mom moved them out of the apartment building she's lived in her whole life; and now she has to go to a new high school that is super-sucky compared to her old school. And then, to top it all off, some mean girl she's never even HEARD of decides she hates Piddy and wants to kick her ass.
This is such a great story of a smart kid with good family support who gets bullied for no apparent reason, and all of the bad things that happen because of it...and what happens when she finally breaks down to ask for help. As well as changing friendships, some teenaged making out, and the effects that bullying can have on a person. I felt for Piddy so much - I wasn't even bullied much as a teen, but I remember the fear of the bullies. I thought this story was so real and had so much heart - I tore through it very quickly.
This is such a great story of a smart kid with good family support who gets bullied for no apparent reason, and all of the bad things that happen because of it...and what happens when she finally breaks down to ask for help. As well as changing friendships, some teenaged making out, and the effects that bullying can have on a person. I felt for Piddy so much - I wasn't even bullied much as a teen, but I remember the fear of the bullies. I thought this story was so real and had so much heart - I tore through it very quickly.
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
rebeccafromflorida's review against another edition
4.0
When I was at ALAMW14 in January, I met author Meg Medina at the Library of Virginia booth. Shannon @ River City Reading had read her book, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (her review is here!!!), and mentioned she was a must-meet author.
Well, I was shocked when we started talking. It turns out that Meg Medina lived in the same smallish town where I grew up, and we overlapped by a sizable chunk of years. She even taught at my middle school (before I got there, though).
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass via Love at First Book
Author Meg Medina, myself, & Katie @ Doing Dewey at ALAMW14
Anyway, after that, how could I not pick up her book???
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina is a fictional, young adult (not very much a book for adults, too!) story about Piddy, a new girl at a rough school.
Unfortunately for Piddy, a bully named Yaqui Delgado, is upset with her – so upset that she wants to beat her up. Why is Yaqui so angry? Piddy is apparently getting some attention for shaking her behind (which she didn’t even know she had or did!), and some of that attention is coming from Yaqui’s boyfriend, neither of whom has Piddy met.
Piddy, an A student at her old school, is consumed with fear. Her grades drop, she starts having a tough time with her friends and mother, and she starts skipping school.
Only when the situation gets physical, does Piddy finally find a little bit of courage to change the situation.
This book is one for everyone – mainly because it’s so REAL. Piddy is a fictional character, but she is a representation of many students in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools across the country.
As I was reading it, I was trying to think of how to help solve Piddy’s problem – as a former teacher, as an eventual-parent . . . how can we help teens who are too terrified to speak up?
Don’t judge this book by its title – Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is titled in a way to shock you a little. And it should, but not because of the title, but because similar phrases are being spoken in our schools and need to be stopped.
Well, I was shocked when we started talking. It turns out that Meg Medina lived in the same smallish town where I grew up, and we overlapped by a sizable chunk of years. She even taught at my middle school (before I got there, though).
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass via Love at First Book
Author Meg Medina, myself, & Katie @ Doing Dewey at ALAMW14
Anyway, after that, how could I not pick up her book???
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina is a fictional, young adult (not very much a book for adults, too!) story about Piddy, a new girl at a rough school.
Unfortunately for Piddy, a bully named Yaqui Delgado, is upset with her – so upset that she wants to beat her up. Why is Yaqui so angry? Piddy is apparently getting some attention for shaking her behind (which she didn’t even know she had or did!), and some of that attention is coming from Yaqui’s boyfriend, neither of whom has Piddy met.
Piddy, an A student at her old school, is consumed with fear. Her grades drop, she starts having a tough time with her friends and mother, and she starts skipping school.
Only when the situation gets physical, does Piddy finally find a little bit of courage to change the situation.
This book is one for everyone – mainly because it’s so REAL. Piddy is a fictional character, but she is a representation of many students in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools across the country.
As I was reading it, I was trying to think of how to help solve Piddy’s problem – as a former teacher, as an eventual-parent . . . how can we help teens who are too terrified to speak up?
Don’t judge this book by its title – Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is titled in a way to shock you a little. And it should, but not because of the title, but because similar phrases are being spoken in our schools and need to be stopped.
writteninblue's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really well-written, important book, but it was also very hard for me to read. I get stressed out when I read about characters shirking schoolwork and particularly stressed when the characters are being bullied. But there are a lot of important messages in this book about how fear and bullying scar you and can change who you are and how the most important thing is to take care of yourself, even if that means leaving the situation. And the book ends on a hopeful and happy note, despite the scars the narrator will hold forever.
bambiib's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was fantastic. Pretty realistic to today's youth and bullying. Even made me cry at certain point and i'm a grown woman. Read it in less than 24 hours because i couldn't put it down.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
2.5.
When Piddy moves to a new school, she learns a girl named Yaqui Delgado wants to kick her ass. Why? It's never clear. There's rumors maybe Piddy's walking with too much sass at school or that she wants to get with Yaqui's boyfriend. But the rumors don't matter much when Yaqui acts on her threat, someone records the fight, and everyone's seen Piddy get her ass kicked (half naked, which was even more humiliating).
This is more than a bullying story, though. It's also about family, as Piddy discovers the truth of who her father was. She's also grieving the loss of her best friend -- when she moved, her friend and her drifted apart, even though they didn't live too far from one another. It was hard anyway.
The book is fine, and it offers a truthful look at bullying that's unprovoked. It's more about the territory than anything else. But I didn't find myself invested in Piddy's story, nor did I find myself feeling much of anything while reading it. The beating is pretty rough, but beyond that, my emotions never moved up or down. This book would be fine for younger teen readers (even with the provocative title -- which is good on Candlewick for taking a risk with). The writing itself is average at best.
Pair this one with Rita Garcia-Williams's Jumped, especially as both feature people of color and bullying.
When Piddy moves to a new school, she learns a girl named Yaqui Delgado wants to kick her ass. Why? It's never clear. There's rumors maybe Piddy's walking with too much sass at school or that she wants to get with Yaqui's boyfriend. But the rumors don't matter much when Yaqui acts on her threat, someone records the fight, and everyone's seen Piddy get her ass kicked (half naked, which was even more humiliating).
This is more than a bullying story, though. It's also about family, as Piddy discovers the truth of who her father was. She's also grieving the loss of her best friend -- when she moved, her friend and her drifted apart, even though they didn't live too far from one another. It was hard anyway.
The book is fine, and it offers a truthful look at bullying that's unprovoked. It's more about the territory than anything else. But I didn't find myself invested in Piddy's story, nor did I find myself feeling much of anything while reading it. The beating is pretty rough, but beyond that, my emotions never moved up or down. This book would be fine for younger teen readers (even with the provocative title -- which is good on Candlewick for taking a risk with). The writing itself is average at best.
Pair this one with Rita Garcia-Williams's Jumped, especially as both feature people of color and bullying.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
A quietly moving story of just how horrible adolescence can be.
allerkins's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I think I read over half of it in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Meg Medina has written a moving, sweet, funny, scary, sad story about bullying in high school and what it means to be a young Latina. The characters Piddy, her mother, her aunt, the boy next door, and all of Piddy's friends just came to life off the page. Medina has created a very strong cast of secondary characters and Piddy herself is completely believable and easy to relate to.
Piddy lives with her mom in a rundown apartment building. When the stairs in their building collapse, her mother has had enough and decides it is time to move. Sadly this also means that Piddy must change schools. On one of her very first days a girl walks up to her and says, "Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass." Piddy doesn't even know who Yaqui is! Yaqui goes on to torment Piddy to no end, resulting in a beating and a video uploaded online for the whole school to see. I especially love that Medina included this all too real aspect of bullying continuing online, which I have seen myself in the lives of the teens I work with.
Teens will find this book realistic and will relate easily to the situation Piddy is in. One of the strengths of the books is the ending. With bullying books, it can be difficult to find an ending that is both realistic and also offers some resolution. I think Medina nailed it with this ending. The more I think about this book, the more I love it and I'm just itching to find some teens to recommend this to because I know they will love it too.
Piddy lives with her mom in a rundown apartment building. When the stairs in their building collapse, her mother has had enough and decides it is time to move. Sadly this also means that Piddy must change schools. On one of her very first days a girl walks up to her and says, "Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass." Piddy doesn't even know who Yaqui is! Yaqui goes on to torment Piddy to no end, resulting in a beating and a video uploaded online for the whole school to see. I especially love that Medina included this all too real aspect of bullying continuing online, which I have seen myself in the lives of the teens I work with.
Teens will find this book realistic and will relate easily to the situation Piddy is in. One of the strengths of the books is the ending. With bullying books, it can be difficult to find an ending that is both realistic and also offers some resolution. I think Medina nailed it with this ending. The more I think about this book, the more I love it and I'm just itching to find some teens to recommend this to because I know they will love it too.
ktrusty416's review against another edition
5.0
Oftentimes YA authors get so caught up with presenting an issue that they don't work as hard on the writing - believable characters/voice, a compelling story, spot on pacing and plotting. Thankfully, Meg Medina doesn't forget the writing. Piddy Sanchez is such a great protagonist, equal parts strong and vulnerable and the world she inhabits (urban, immigrant, working poor, mostly female) is one that may not be familiar to many readers - there is such a dearth of non-white characters in YA fiction - but Medina's representation of that world is rich, heart warming/breaking,complex and complicated. Just like real life.