This is one of those books I planned to read back when it first came out. But I didn't get around to it, until it became one of the selections for the Great Stories Club Grant. Now I'm sorry I waited so long. The novel is written as a series of poems written by the main character, Xiamara called Mara, a teen from the Dominican Republic living in New York. Her mother, who once planned to be a nun, is extremely strict with Mara bordering on abuse. Mara is a teen with typical teen wants and needs who is being stifled at home. She faces her first "forbidden" love, wants to be a part of a school poetry club, and participate in an upcoming poetry slam but all of that goes against her mother's permissions. The emotions expressed in the poetry ring true as Mara learns to express herself, not just on the page, but to her family and the world. Heart-wrenching at times and gloriously composed, this is the winner of the National Book Award, the Pura Belpré Award, and the Michael Printz Award.
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