A review by readerpants
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano

5.0

Many separate thoughts. 1) I bet she scoffed at the saccharine and misleading publisher's blurb. 2) you know how A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is raw and harsh and reminds you that kids are living and surviving in ways that their teachers know nothing about? it feels facile to compare the two because of the setting they share, but the two books really are so similar in tone and feel. 3) I kept marveling that she survived and thrived without being a reader, without books as a primary means of escape or creating space. amazing.

Shelved in YA in my library, but this is a mature memoir in tone and content. a crossover at least. gritty, smart, well done.