A review by kylielynelle
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

5.0

I recently went looking for this title at Half Priced Books. I couldn’t find it on the shelf, so I decided to try my luck asking a very knowledgeable looking clerk shelving books. When I told him that I was looking for a young adult book by this title, he asked, “Are you sure this is young adult with THAT in the title?” I assured him that it was, and that it even won the Pura Belpre Award. Needless to say, we were not able to locate this title in the store, but I soon found it at my local library, in the young adult section. Well- I loved it. In fact, it might be my favorite book I have read thus far this summer. Piddy Sanchez’s story was captivating, to say the least. Told in first person point of view, this title follows the thoughts and fears of a Cuban American teenager, who is having trouble with the other girls at her new school. I’m normally not fond of reading young adult titles written in first person, however this one was an exception. Piddy’s conversational style of storytelling added humor to the text, and made the story seem much more realistic than it would have otherwise. The problems that Piddy faces throughout the story are problems that every teenager will relate to, and connect with. Teenage girls will find it especially powerful, and culturally diverse teenage girls even more so. This is a high-low book, meaning it is of high interest to teenage readers, but has a low enough level of vocabulary that struggling readers can read it independently. There is some content that could be inappropriate for younger readers. I highly recommend this title to readers 14 and up.