Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From Book by Jennifer De Leon

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From 

Author: Jennifer De Leon

Format: Paperback
Genre: Latinx Literature
Language: English
Audience: Adult / Young Adult

Description

First-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.

Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.

There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.

So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.

But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.

Themes

• Identity & cultural belonging

• Race, class & privilege in education

• Assimilation & code-switching

• Self-advocacy & personal growth

A portion of the purchase of this book goes directly to community groups and organizations (listed in this collection’s description). Our goal is to support communities that have been historically marginalized and impacted by systemic oppression.