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

5.0

"Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass" is one of the first things that 15 year old Piddy hears at her new school. Her mother had recently moved them to a new apartment across town in Queens after the stairs of their last one finally gave out. Unfortunately, this means that Piddy is required to go to a new school at the beginning of her sophomore year. The changes that the move set in motion end up being too much for her to handle - the loss of her best friend to a Long Island private school, a mother who is utterly un-relatable and refuses to tell Piddy anything about her absentee father, and a fierce Latina at school who will stop at nothing to get back at Piddy for an unknown slight.

Throughout this book we are challenged to face Piddy's difficulties with her and watch her struggle to discover who she wants to be as a person. With sprinkles of Spanish throughout the book, we are drawn into a world where culture, family, and acceptance collide. The book features strong female Hispanic characters who serve as role models in their pride as well as their imperfections. A page-turner until the end, readers will enjoy Piddy's journey as an emotional roller coaster in the life of a unsure yet determined young woman trying to find her way in the world.

Themes: bullying, mother/daughter relationships, acceptance, cultural (Hispanic), changing friendships, love