Summary:
Piddy Sanchez is in a new school and almost immediately becomes the target of a bully, Yaqui. Somehow, Piddy has managed to be stuck up, not Latina enough, and after Yaqui's boyfriend just by walking through the hallway on her first day of school. How does that happen? At first, Piddy doesn't pay much attention to it, after all, she doesn't even know who Yaqui is. There are other pressing issues in Piddy's life. For instance, Piddy has no information about her father, no pictures, nothing. She also has to work on the weekends at a salon. Yaqui is more of an annoyance until the harassment begins to escalate. It gets to the point where Piddy can't leave the house without fear of interacting with Yaqui or one of her gang. The salon is not even a safe place for her. It seems like everyone is against her and she has no place to turn. How can Piddy manage to get through high school with this constant terror?
My thoughts:
This is such a powerful book. Piddy is a normal girl, but she comes to life in such a way that it feels like you know her. There were so many times that I wanted to help protect her. The isolation and fear were so strong that I wanted to step up to Yaqui (or one of the others) and tell them to back off. There are also several mini mysteries within this book. They make it interesting to find out what other things are happening in Piddy's world. Even though the subject matter is rather grim, there are some lighter points. Piddy's mother is a very strong woman. She likes to try and train Piddy to be a lady. Lila doesn't necessarily hold back her feelings, which are very funny sometimes. Also, the Salon is gossip central, so she learns a lot by working there. Honestly, the ending was very realistic. I'm impressed with Medina and will definitely read things from her again in the future.
Piddy Sanchez is in a new school and almost immediately becomes the target of a bully, Yaqui. Somehow, Piddy has managed to be stuck up, not Latina enough, and after Yaqui's boyfriend just by walking through the hallway on her first day of school. How does that happen? At first, Piddy doesn't pay much attention to it, after all, she doesn't even know who Yaqui is. There are other pressing issues in Piddy's life. For instance, Piddy has no information about her father, no pictures, nothing. She also has to work on the weekends at a salon. Yaqui is more of an annoyance until the harassment begins to escalate. It gets to the point where Piddy can't leave the house without fear of interacting with Yaqui or one of her gang. The salon is not even a safe place for her. It seems like everyone is against her and she has no place to turn. How can Piddy manage to get through high school with this constant terror?
My thoughts:
This is such a powerful book. Piddy is a normal girl, but she comes to life in such a way that it feels like you know her. There were so many times that I wanted to help protect her. The isolation and fear were so strong that I wanted to step up to Yaqui (or one of the others) and tell them to back off. There are also several mini mysteries within this book. They make it interesting to find out what other things are happening in Piddy's world. Even though the subject matter is rather grim, there are some lighter points. Piddy's mother is a very strong woman. She likes to try and train Piddy to be a lady. Lila doesn't necessarily hold back her feelings, which are very funny sometimes. Also, the Salon is gossip central, so she learns a lot by working there. Honestly, the ending was very realistic. I'm impressed with Medina and will definitely read things from her again in the future.
