2.3.2023
Happy new year! Okay, we all know I’m terrible at updating this. Lots of wonderful honors and accolades for TUMBLE since its release in August. I am so very grateful to the librarians, teachers, and reviewers who have recognized TUMBLE this year. Thank you!
8.27.2022
So much news!
TUMBLE, my third book for young readers, came out on August 16! I celebrated the release at my local independent bookstore, Women and Children First. Thank you to everyone who can out! It was a fun evening! If you’re interested in a signed and personalized copy, you can still order from Women and Children First. Just leave your information in the notes / comments box in the order form.
TUMBLE has received SIX starred reviews (thanks BookPage and School Library Journal)!
I chatted with Juana Summers about TUMBLE on NPR’s All Things Considered!
STRANGE BIRDS was selected by the Florida Humanities / Center for the Book as the Florida representative for the 2022 National Book Festival’s Great Reads from Great Places! Having grown up in Florida, and wanting this book to be a Florida book, this is a special honor that I’m proud of.
I wrote an essay about the wrestling fandom of my youth for BookPage. Check it out!
I had a lot of fun participating in Penguin’s Middle Grade Munchies series a few weeks ago. If you weren’t able to join us, my episode is up! Grab your croutons!
Do you enjoy a good audiobook? The audiobook of TUMBLE, beautifully narrated by Victoria Villarreal, is now available from Listening Library!
8.2.2022
More good news for TUMBLE! It has received its fourth starred review from The Horn Book Magazine! Thanks you!
Check out my interview with Betsy Bird on the A Fuse #8 Production blog on the School Library Journal website!
7.1.2022
TUMBLE has received two more starred reviews! Thanks to Publishers Weekly and School Library Connection for this kind honor.
6.20.2022
Happy summer solstice! Updating with some recent TUMBLE news:
I’m pleased to share that TUMBLE is a Junior Library Guild selection! Thank you, JLG!
TUMBLE has received a starred review from Kirkus! In the words (word?) of Ric Flair: WOOOOH!
1.27.2022
I’m back! And I come bearing book news! TUMBLE (my third book!) will be out in August! If you are into stories about quirky kids, family secrets, friendship, complicated family relationships, mythology, wrestling (or wrasslin’), identity, tumbleweeds (yes, tumbleweeds) and so much more, check it out. BONUS: It will be published in both English and Spanish simultaneously! Get one, get both! It’s available for pre-order now everywhere books are sold. Can you pre-order from your favorite independent bookstores? Yes! You sure can! Check their website or give them a call or walk in if they’re offering in-person service and they can help you. I can’t wait to share the cover and tell you who the amazing artist that illustrated it is (hopefully very soon). Thank you so very much for your support!
And delighted to see TUMBLE in the Latinx in Publishing’s list of most anticipated 2022 Latinx Book!
2.26.2021
One of the good things that came out of the less-than-stellar year that was 2020 is the announcement for my next book! Old news, but maybe new to you? Wishing everyone a better year. xo
11.11.2019
So honored to have STRANGE BIRDS reviewed in the Sunday New York Times Book Review by the amazing Erika L. Sanchez!
09.14.2019
Thank you to Mary Quattlebaum for this feature in the KidsPost section of The Washington Post, and to Christine Hepperman for this review in my hometown paper, The Chicago Tribune!
08.29.2019
Had a fun time doing this interview for Unladylike!
08.21.2019
I had the opportunity to talk about STRANGE BIRDS recently with 100 Scope Notes, Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book Magazine, and School Library Journal!
08.05.2019
Thank you to Publishers Weekly for naming STRANGE BIRDS one of The Most Anticipated Children's and YA Books of Fall 2019!
07.24.2019
LA PRIMERA REGLA DEL PUNK is out now from Vintage Español (also available as an audiobook!) And I’m pleased to share that it’s a Junior Library Guild Selection!
07.01.2019
LA PRIMERA REGLA DEL PUNK will be out (along with the audiobook) on July 9, 2019! Super excited to have THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK translated into Spanish and published by Vintage Español!
06.12.2019
Good news for all the musical fans out there! THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is in development for a musical at the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis! BMG, who represent lots of amazing musicians, will be involved as well. Read more about it here!
03.30.2019
I am so pleased to finally be able to share the cover of STRANGE BIRDS! It was illustrated by the super talented Shannon Wright and designed by Dana Li at Penguin! Want to read more about the evolution of the story and take a quiz to find out which STRANGE BIRDS character you are? Check out my piece on the Nerdy Book Club blog!
02.16.2019
So excited to see THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK on the 2020 Master List of the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award / Illinois Children’s Choice Award! Especially proud since I call Chicago home. Thank you for this honor!
In other news, the Spanish translation of THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK will be out this spring from Vintage Español! Keep an eye out for more news about LA PRIMERA REGLA DEL PUNK!
02.08.2019
A belated happy new year! I have been busy working on my next book (and not updating this, obviously). Thank you to everyone for all the kind support of THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK over the past year. I am grateful to readers and to everyone who has shared and continues to share the book with children (and adults too!) Keep an eye out for news about my new book, STRANGE BIRDS, coming soon! It will be published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers on September 3, 2019. I can’t wait to share this book with you!
09.5.2018
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was included in the L.A. Times / Common Sense Media collaboration on How to Raise a Reader. Check out the bilingual guide to children's books. And on Brightly's 11 Contemporary Diverse Novels for Middle Grade Readers!
06.06.2018
What an amazing surprise to learn that THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was selected a 2018 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards honor book in the Fiction & Poetry category! Honored to be among these fantastic books.
06.06.2018
It was an honor to have my essay on the book that changed my life included in The Horn Book Magazine's Make A Different issue. My essay is one of several and they are all available on the Horn Book's website.
06.06.2018
So many great things have been happening for THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK recently! I had the wonderful opportunity to be in Providence, Rhode Island for the kickoff celebration of their Kids Reading Across Rhode Island initiative. It was a lot of fun, and I met so many great people. I also got to see a readers theater adaptation of the book performed by a group of high school theater students! So cool!
I also participated in a conversation with Shelley Diaz of School Library Journal at the lovely Cafe con Libros book store in Brooklyn, Sponsored by Latinx in Publishing, the evening's proceeds were donated to the fundraising efforts of Boston-area librarian Sujei Lugo to be used for an ongoing project to build a community library in a rural area of Puerto Rico. If you're interested in helping out, they have a wishlist of books and other materials.
Latinas in kidlit at Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn.
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was selected as one of The Washington Post's KidPost Summer Book Club reads! And it's in great company!
05.14.2018
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is a 2018-2019 Lectio Book Award finalist! Honored to be on this list with so many of my favorites!
05.14.2018
Thrilled to be a 2018-2019 North Carolina Children's Book Award nominee! Thank you to the young readers who nominated THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK!
05.13.2018
The Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC) has published its summer reading lists for 2018. THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK joins some great books in the 6th-8th grade list!
05.12.2018
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is a 2018-2019 Project LIT Book Club selection! Project LIT is a community of educators working to increase access to diverse books and to foster a love of reading. Happy to have TFROP be a part of this initiative!
04.24.2018
So happy to learn that THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is a 2018-2019 Sunshine State Young Readers Award book for grades 6-8!
03.29.2018
What a cool honor to have THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK selected as the 2018 Kids Reading Across Rhode Island book! Thank you!
03.28.2018
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is an E.B. White Read-Aloud Award finalist! A huge thanks to the American Booksellers Association and to the 2018 jury members who selected it. I am filled with love and gratitude for indie bookstores and the support they've shown us!
03.11.2018
Had a great time chatting with the youth services librarian who make the Is It Teen Enough For You Now podcast. Check out the interview! And if you like YA, check out past and future episodes of the podcast too!
02.28.2018
Check out THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK featured in this week's episode of the Book Club for Kids podcast!
01.24.2018
Book Club for Kids podcast episode coming in February! And check out the guest celebrity reader! Chicago's own Mayor Emanuel.
Credit: City of Chicago/Brooke Collins
01.22.2018
I love Michelle Gonzalez's wonderful piece for Latino Rebels, THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK: The Most Important Book Published During the First Year of the Trump Presidency. What an honor. Thank you for this, Michelle!
01.15.2018
Thank you to author Meg Medina for inviting me to write a guest post for her blog. Check out my tour of Chicago in THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK!
01.07.2018
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is included in Barnes & Noble's BN Kids Blog as one of 10 Notable Middle Grade Books of 2017. Cool!
01.03.2018
What an honor to be selected one of the 2017 NERDIES in middle grade fiction along with so many other great 2017 books! Thank you to everyone who voted!
12.28.2017
I had a great time chatting with Allyson McCabe of The Rumpus for the Sound & Vision column. We talked about punk, family, culture, and zine in THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK!
12.28.2017
Julie's follow up to my Kirkus interview last week is now up on her fantastic blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast! She's posted some images of zine originals from THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK. Check them out!
Thanks to Julie Danielson for this fun interview on the Kirkus Reviews page! There will be a follow up with more original zine images on her fantastic blog, 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, next week!
12.15.2017
So excited to be named a Fall 2017 Flying Starts author by Publishers Weekly!
12.14.2017
What an honor to be included in this list of Best Books of 2017 for Young Readers compiled by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
12.8.2017
Thanks to the kind folks at Powell's Books for naming THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK one of the Best Kids' Books of 2017!
12.06.2017
Thanks to Mr. Schu, THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was in a recommended books for the holidays in...Men's Health!
12.04.2017
What a great surprise to see THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK included in this article from The Washington Post! These Books Can Help Build Strong Girls--And Boys--For Today's World. So many great books here!
12.03.2017
Thank you to author Melissa Roske for inviting me to complete the Proust questionnaire for her blog! It was a lot of fun answering these questions.
12.01.20107
I was interviewed live on The Interview Show at The Hideout here in Chicago along with MacArthur Genius and all-around amazing architect Jean Gang and two-time Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey! What an honor!
11.26.2017
Thank you to Samantha for this beautiful, heartfelt review on her Book Beat blog. "I stopped writing because I wasn’t reading books by people like me and didn’t think it was possible for a person like me to even be a writer. Who would want to write, let alone read a book about a Mexican girl?" #browngirlsrock
11.21.2017
One of the best experiences I've had making zines for so many years is developing friendships that have lasted. Despite living in different parts of the country, I have kept up with a handful of zinesters over the years through letters and zines. This past week I received this beautiful piece of art made by one of my oldest zines friends. I love everything about this, but especially the little Malú worry doll!
11.21.2017
How cool is this? The mom of a California 5th grader whose class was reading the book made conchas for the class at his request. They look yummy, and I love that they perfectly match the cover!
11.06.2017
Malú rides the Pink Line! The Pink Line goes around the Loop and west through Pilsen, a historically Mexican neighborhood that was partly the inspiration for Malú’s new home. As a regular CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) rider I love this opportunity to share my book in such a cool way. Thank you to Books on the L!
11.03.2017
One of the greatest honors I had in writing THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK and seeing it become a real live book was the opportunity to work with and amazing team of Latinas including my editor, my agent and the cover illustrator. There's a great feature over on Bustle about this experience! Thanks to Kerri Jared for The Latina Team Behind 'The First Rule of Punk' Created Something For The Kids They Used to Be.
11.02.2017
The audiobook edition of THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK, from Recorded Books, is out in the world! It's read by the super talented actress, Trini Alvarado! It's available wherever audiobooks are sold. And check out the cool cover!
11.01.2017
I wrote a guest post for the Kidliterati blog about my "writing process." They're giving a way a signed copy of THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK so be sure to enter the raffle before it closes!
10.31.2017
This is THE coolest. A middle school student from Texas dressed up as Malú for Halloween! Halloween is my favorite holiday so this is such an honor! Big thanks to her school librarian for sharing this!
10.30.2017
Love being included in Brightly's Read Globally list of 15 Beautiful Books That Introduce Mexican Culture and History to Kids!
10.10.2017
It was a lot of fun to do this interview of School Library Journal with Jennifer Mathieu, the author of the new YA novel Moxie (whose protagonist also makes zines!) They've Got Moxie: In Conversation with Celia C. Pérez and Jennifer Mathieu.
10.10.2017
My interview with the Books Between podcast was included in Matthew Winner's Top 10 Tuesday: Podcast Interviews with Hispanic and Latinx Bookmakers. That's some good company to be in!
10.09.2017
What a great list to be on! Brightly's 17 New Authors of Color Writing Much-Needed Stories for Kids.
10.08.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK got a sweet shout out from John Green in Parade Magazine's 3 Page Turners for All Ages.
10.06.2017
Super honored to have THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK selected as the ONE CITY, ONE BOOK read for Pleasant Hill, California! All 5th graders in the city will get a copy of the book and there will be more give away in the library.
10.01.2017
Honored to be the featured children's author for October on the Chicago Public Library's website. And THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is Kids Staff Pick for October too! Cool!
9.28.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is included in the Chicago Public Library's MUSIC: THE BEAT OF OUR CITY list of musical books for kids!
09.28.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK is a 2017-2018 Chicago Public Schools Battle of the Books title for 7th-8th grade! I feel like I've died and gone to heaven. What an honor!
09.28.2017
Thank you to Lettycia Terrones for this most thoughtful and beautifully written look at THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK over at the Latinxs in Kid Lit blog.
09.27.2017
Check out THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK in the Chicago Public Library's Neighborhood Girls: New Teen Books by Chicago Authors list!
09.25.2017
Thank you to the Latinxs in Kid Lit blog for the Spotlight on Middle Grade Authors feature!
09.25.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was featured on School Library Journal's Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery blog!
09.21.2017
Q&A on #OurVoces blog series featuring Latinx and Hispanic kid lit authors!
09.18.2017
Thank you to A Mighty Girl for including THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK with so many of my favorites in its 45 Empowering Books Starring Latina Mighty Girls!
09.18.2017
Completely out of order but I forgot to include it when it aired. I was interviewed by the lovely Corrina Allen for episode #33 of Books Between! One of my favorite podcasts so this was super fun to do.
09.18.2017
Honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to talk about THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK and diversity in books with veteran Chicago journalist Sue Ontiveros for her Chicago Sun-Times column.
09.14.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was featured in mitú's "Fierce Boss Ladies" column. A huge thanks to Raquel Richard for this lovely feature!
09.14.2017
Thank you to Betsy Bird at School Library Journal's A Fuse #8 Production Blog for featuring THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK as its Review of the Day!
09.13.2017
Happy Latinx / Latino / Hispanic Heritage Month! Thank you to School Library Journal for including THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK in its list of 23 YA and Middle Grade Books to Honor Hispanic Heritage Month! If you're looking for more titles, we're also on Brightly's 14 New Children's and YA Books That Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
09.5.2017
Thank you, Colby Sharp, for including THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK in Not On The Yarn!
09.01.2017
I was interviewed by Kelly McEvers for NPR's All Things Considered. What an honor! Audio and transcript are available online now.
08.27.2017
"Sorry, Mom, I'm an Aspiring Punk Rocker": THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was reviewed by Nell Beram for the back-to-school section of The New York Times Book Review!
09.01.2017
THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK was reviewed in the September issue of the long running punk fanzine Maximum RocknRoll!
08.21.2017 - 09.1.2017
Thank you to all the wonderful blogs and bloggers who featured THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK on its two week blog tour!
August 21 – Books 4 Your Kids
August 22 – Here’s to Happy Endings
August 23 – Boricuan Bookworms
August 24 – Teachers Who Read
August 25 – Margie’s Must Reads
August 28 – The Reading Nook Reviews
August 29 – The Novel Hermit
August 30 – Teen Librarian Toolbox
August 31 – YA Book Central
September 1 – The YA Book Traveler
08.23.2017
Feature by Heidi Stevens in The Chicago Tribune! 'Chicago librarian captures punk aesthetic, Latino culture in new kids' book'.
08.21.2017
Thanks to the American Booksellers Association and Indies Introduce committee member Laura Delaney for this Indies Introduce Q&A!
08.17.2017
A lovely review of THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK over at Mrs. Knott's Book Nook!
08.17.2017
It was a lot fun to put together How to Make a Zine: A Kid-Friendly DIY Guide for the Brightly site. Now go make a zine!
08.17.2017
Thank you Phil at Change the Rotation blog for the interview! We chat about zines, punk, librarianship, and THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK!
08.17.2017
"'The First Rule of Punk' Celebrates Feisty, Soyrizo Loving Latina Girl"! I was interviewed about THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK for NBC Latino!
08.17.2017
What an honor to be a part of the Autumn 2017 Kids' Indie Next List with all these amazing titles! Thank you, American Booksellers Association!
08.08.2017
This review from Michelle Gonzales--Chicana punk, author, teacher--is worth infinite stars. Thank you, Michelle!
08.07.2017
A starred review from Publishers Weekly!
08.07.2017
Super honored to be the Book of the Week at the Cooperative Children's Book Center! If you don't know about them and their amazing work in tracking diversity in publishing, check them out!
08.05.2017
The First Rule of Punk in the Ms. Magazine blog's 10 Summer Reads for Young Feminists. Honored to be on this list with such amazing company!
08.02.2017
Featured #BookTalk on Reading with Mr. Sharp! Cool!
08.01.2017
Lots of awesome stuff happening today for THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK!
Included in 10 Bitch Approved Books You Must Read in August over at the BITCHMEDIA website.
Included in Must-Read August New Releases on the Book Riot website.
Included in Amazon's Best Books of the Month for ages 9-12.
07.18.2017
Featured in a Q&A on Travis Jonker's 100 Scope Notes blog over at the School Library Journal website!
06.27.2017
A lovely starred review from School Library Journal! Thank you!
06.5.2017
Kicking it back to April. Forgot to link to this lovely little nugget from Loud Women ezine on the other side of the pond! Thanks for the shout out!
05.27.2017
Great review love from the folks at Owl Crate in their May Reading Wrap Up!
05.24.2017
Starred review for The First Rule of Punk from Kirkus Review!
How cool is that? Excited to be in such great company and thankful to the selecting committee, made up of independent booksellers, for this honor. Blurbs from some of the committee members can be found here.
03.29.2017
10 Exciting New Middle Grade Books with Latinx Main Characters (via Brightly)
03.07.2017
9 2017 Releases From Latinx Authors To Add To Your TBR This Women's History Month
Honored to be included in this list of 2017 releases by Latinxs in honor of Women's History Month (via Bustle)!
02.02.2017
The First Rule of Punk featured in Publishers Weekly's Fall 2017 Children's Sneak Previews
09.12.2016
Publisher's Weekly Rights Report: September 12, 2016
I wrote a book! And it's going to be published by Viking!
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