First if all, thank you to the publisher for providing me a review copy!

I gotta admit TMoYlB was not what I expected but also did not disappoint and gave me so much more, than what I expected!

I love the represenrations in this book; we got various cultural representations (I mean it‘s NYC duh 👀), we got Queer rep and with Yolanda being deaf and wearing cochlear implants we also got deaf rep - which is so refreshing to see!

The writing style of the author is very easy to follow, although some parts were rather slow-paced.

I loved the magical realism aspect and the way Yolanda is trying to find her place in this hostile world as a young Black Latinx woman and Bruja.
The friendship and sisterhood in this one is immaculate and the story in general picks up so many important and relevant social justice issues.

The Making of Yolanda La Bruja is all the things. I didn't think a book that addressed racial disparities, occult lore, and teen angst could be hilarious, with pacing so carefully implemented that I was already wanting to find more books by this author. Without a doubt, I realized I'm in the company of an expert. Avila knows what she's doing. The protagonist, Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez, is well-drawn, and so real. Her vernacular reminds me of what I read on social media, hear in the streets. Yolanda under the watchful eye of her grandmother, Mama Tete is embarking on a mission. She must save her high school from a boy who may be a threat to everything she holds dear and safe. The trouble is how do you get people to listen to you?
I loved reading the lore about tarot. I was reminded of the nights I watched my mother sit down and give herself readings, and how she passed on her tarot knowledge to me. I highly recommend this book and I hope to get my book club to select it for the book of the month

This YA debut novel is a knock out. Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez, born in the Dominican Republic, is in tenth grade at Julia De Burgos High School in the Bronx. Since her father went to prison she lives mostly with her grandmother. Which is good, because Mama Tete is a partitioner of traditional Afro-Caribbean religion, and is teaching Yolanda about the ancestral spirits.

Life is difficult for Black and Brown students in 2020, with abundant racism and sexism, but Yolanda has her tarot cards, supportive teachers and her best friend Victory. Until a white boy named Ben, son of an ambitious local politician, shows up at school. Things are going to get a whole lot worse--can Yolanda survive her spiritual initiation and life as a Black girl in America?

The plot is gripping, the prose electric, the characters are excellently drawn. Difficult issues of racism, gender, disablism and gun violence are deftly handled. It's billed as a YA novel, and it's certain to be a hit with city kids, but it kept this 70-year-old woman glued to the page. I loved this book and heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thoughtful look at life for young people, especially young people of color, today.

The Making of Yolanda la Bruja by Lorraine Avila will be published April 11, 2023 by Levine Querido. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Making of Yolanda la Bruja by Lorraine Avila is one of the most powerful and necessary books for young adults and really for all of our communities dealing with gun violence and violence in schools that I've read.

Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez is a 10th grader attending Julia De Burgos High in the South Bronx. Yolanda has the gift of sight and has been in training as a Bruja with her grandmother who is raising her, Mama Tete, since she was a young girl. Everyday she is learning more about her gifts, about the Bruja Diosas, and her own unique calling. When she starts having visions about the new white boy, Ben, at school, she is overwhelmed. Mama Tete consults her guides and learns that this is more than an ordinary vision this is part of Yolanda's initiation into the fullness of her spiritual gifts and calling. Yolanda takes this to mean that she must fix the course of events she is seeing related to the darkness around Ben. The only thing is she doesn't quite understand what is about to happen. She has to rely on her own intuition and what she's learned from her mother, Mama Tete, and the elders for her community to be guided at the right time to take the appropriate course of action.

I love how this story address relevant themes of violence in schools and in our communities while still allowing for the voices of young adults and their coming of age experiences to be centered. Yolanda is not only learning about how to use her gifts to help her community, she also falls in love with Jose, bonds with her girls, cracks jokes with her friends, reunites with her Papi when he returns home from being incarcerated and so much more. I truly love this story and I am grateful that it exists in a world where so many young people are growing up without a basic sense of safety.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the e-arc copy!