“When We Make It” is the raw, honest story of a teenage Nuyorican living in poverty. Her story includes many tragedies but ends with Hope, not for getting out or making it, but for finding Hope where she is and within her community. This story also raises excellent questions about the unique situations that teenage girls have to navigate, simply because they are girls. Excellent, well written novel in verse!

This is a beautiful book told in verse about a Puerto Rican eighth grade girl who lives in NYC. She lives together with her mother and sister, sometimes with friends, sometimes with family, and sometimes in a motel or church.

It is extremely hard to do this book justice with a review, especially because I do not share these experiences. This book made me feel sad, angry, hopeful, and heartbroken, all at the same time.

This is a book about a family in a city that has let them down.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. "When We Make It" by Elisabet Velasquez is a strong, powerful novel in verse about a strong, powerful teenage girl in New York City. Sarai wonders what it means to make it, what making it would like, if everyone is trying to make it to the same place. She struggles with her cultural identity, her familial strife and neighborhood gentrification. The verse structure lends itself well to the harsh reality of Sarai's everyday life.

See my starred review of When We Make It in School Library Journal https://www.slj.com/?reviewDetail=when-we-make-it

For fans of Elizabeth Acevedo.

When We Make It is a novel in verse about Sarai, a Puerto Rican growing up in NYC in the 90’s. It deals with race, poverty, homelessness, and mental illness.

Elisabet Velasquez does an excellent job of making you feel you are walking alongside Sarai as she walks the streets of her neighborhood, goes to school, and goes through various circumstances that require her to grow up quickly.

My favorite quote from the book is this: “Some people say we are saying it wrong but they are just jealous our accents want every letter to be heard because isn’t that the worst thing? To exist so plainly in sight and still be ignored.”

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book reminded me so much of Elizabeth Acevedo's books with the style and format. In some ways that took away from my feelings for this book because I kept comparing. But overall this was a beautiful in verse book about a teenager finding her way in the world.

I loved this book and the exploration of the struggles girl through every day! Great rising action and attention to detail!

First, thank you to @PenguinTeen for a gifted copy of the physical arc and to NetGalley for a digital arc! Second, let me just say that I finished this book in two days and that was only the first of several re-reads that I plan for it. When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez is a phenomenal novel-in-verse that is both heart touching and heart wrenching.

This novel-in-verse is based on Elisabet Velasquez’s life growing up in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She is a first generation U.S. born Puerto Rican. The issues in the novel are the same issues that Velasquez’s family dealt with when she was growing up. This includes mental illness, houselessness, food insecurity and poverty.

I read the physical book and listened to the audiobook at the same time. I’m not a native Spanish speaker, so it helped me learn the pronunciation of some of the Spanish words I was unfamiliar with. I highly recommend the audiobook. It is narrated by the author and listening to her read her poetry is captivating. It helped add context and emotion to parts that had scenes I was unfamiliar with, which led to a better understanding of the narrative for myself.

The poems about going missing in Bushwick resonated with me. I began thinking about visibility. Which is something I have thought about a lot lately, but especially when I am reading #ownvoices stories. It’s the beauty of being seen even though you were there the whole time. It’s the sadness of being erased even though you are still there. There is a series of poems that talk about going missing and describe it as almost a guarantee in the Bushwick neighborhood. The first one is “Tone Goes Missing” on page 271.

There is just so much that you have to pause and sit with on that. There is so much to unpack. The inevitability of disappearing. The desire to disappear. The need to know that you are being searched for. Whew! I had to pause for a little bit after that. But this is just one of many examples of the many layers Velasquez has woven into her poetry. The conversations I could have on that poem alone in a high school English class should be enough to make you pick up this book and teach it.

Reading this book is like viewing a beautiful, complicated tapestry of life. It includes elements that make up life, as complicated as it is, which for main character Sarai, include heritage, religion, family, poverty, mother-daughter relationship, assault and just being a teenager. I also love the pride in this book! Bushwick pride! Nuyorican and Puerto Rican pride! I’m looking forward to more books from Ms. Velasquez! I can’t wait to get this one into the hands of students!

This is a touching novel-in-verse following Sarai, a young teen, who is navigating poverty, housing and food insecurity, and coming of age. From start to finish, this depicts how Sarai is trying to figure out how she will “make it,” because she is constantly being told how much potential she has and how “making it” is an eventuality she needs to strive for, something she needs to keep working at so that things will be better.

Sarai’s voice and curiosity are powerful, and as she watches the people around her each define themselves in unique ways, her journey towards defining what “making it” is shifts. The verse was so real and impactful - there were so many good lines! Highly recommend.

I rarely read novels in verse, but I knew this was going to be one I needed. Not only did I love how beautiful the words were, but I felt all of Sarai’s pain.

My best friend is Puerto Rican and I have her picking it up to read it immediately, because I think not only does she need to read it, but every girl of color.

*Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange fo an honest review!*

This book was beautifully written! It was a coming-of-age story that dealt with many important issues like poverty, family troubles, addiction, and the sexualization of young girls. Unfortunately my eARC was badly formatted so some of the verse was a little wonky and difficult to read. However, I did still enjoy this book overall!

The rhythm of the verse was excellently written and packed full of so many emotions. It was a poignant way to express Sarai's thoughts and feelings. I could sense the author's own connection to this storyline, very intimate and rawly honest. Much of this book was truly heartbreaking to read about; Sarai has to deal with so much at such a young age. This book explores what it means to "make it" and how Sarai's view of this term evolves through her experiences. Some moments were a little confusing or difficult to understand (although maybe this was just due to my ill-formatted copy), and the ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I wish there had been more emphasis on some specific events that caused what happened at the end, which probably would have made it feel less sudden.

I gave this book 3.5/5 Stars ​⭐️⭐️⭐️✨. I definitely recommend this book for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo!

Content warnings: addiction (drugs), drug abuse, body shaming, fatphobia, sexual assault, rape, teen pregnancy, miscarriage, child abuse, racism, sexism, misogyny, sexualization of young girls, religious hypocrisy, police brutality, violence, mental illness (postpartum depression), attempted suffocation of baby, death, grief

A powerful novel in verse on what it means to find yourself when the world around you expects you to fail. While this isn't your typical YA novel that culminates with the main character finding happiness because she is now in a better place physically, but one the end with her knowing her worth and determining to make a better life for herself where she is.

Being born and raised in Puerto Rico, this book touched me in so many ways. Equal parts heartbreaking and powerful, this book is a love letter to Puerto Ricans, especially those living in NYC. So beautifully written! *I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but I really only liked it. I enjoy reading books written in verse but this one was to be captivated by. I know it’s an early edition ARC, but there wasn’t enough of a concrete plot for me. Will I purchase it for my high school library? Probably, as I think many of my students look for books written in verse and they may see themselves in the main character. Not my favorite book, but a generally good read none the less.

Thank you PenguinTeen & NetGalley for sending me this eARC!

Where do I even start? How about with the fact that I could not put this book down! I really enjoyed this one. I feel like it is really authentic to the teenager experience. The main character struggles with trying to figure out her identity and place in the world. She’s also trying to figure out how the world works, rebelling a little bit, and experiencing her first relationship. She’s Puertorican, and from my very limited perspective, I think that the author did a beautiful job of speaking to the experience of being a Puertorican teenager in America. Obviously, it doesn’t encompass all experiences, but I think that there were a lot of very real issues and struggles that a lot of people will identify with.

The novel is in verse and I think it flows really well. I always love novels in verse because they tell an amazing story with less words than a dense novel. This book did just that. I feel like the story stayed with me for a few days afterwards. It spoke to me so much that I even want to get it for the group of kids that I work with!

If you enjoy Elizabeth Acevedo’s novels, I would definitely say give this one a try. If you’re looking for a real coming of age story that will break you heart and give you hope at the same time, this is a book for you. I personally liked it a lot and I will be keeping up with this author to see what else they share with the world! I highly recommend this book!

🎉Book Review!🎉

To celebrate #LatinxHeritageMonth there was not a better book than #WhenWeMakeIt by @elisabetvelasquezpoetry ✌️In this book, the main character, Sarai brought readers into her world living in Bushwick, Brooklyn where she and her family face difficult situations such as poverty, food insecurity, sexual assault, racism, sexuality, teen pregnancy, miscarriage, mental illness, abuse…

I appreciate how the author gave a raw and authentic view into the main character’s tough upbringing. The verses added to the overall vibe of the book which made it more realistic than if it were written in chapter format.

All in all, if you like the works of @acevedowrites and @jasonreynolds83 you will definitely appreciate this book!✌️

🤓Thank you @penguinteen for sending me this @netgalley e-book ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! 🤓

Rating: 4.5/5

A beautiful novel written in verse, similar to The Poet X, an instant classic, prize winning novel.
So real, relatable to Latinx like myself, I felt particularly seen. I cried. I smiled, and at the end of this novel, felt grateful, for who and where I am today. The triumphs that many of us overcome to have what comes easily to others, but in which we have to works extra hard for, either because of background, language, or being in immigrant. I LOVED this book, and I cannot wait to read it again, and again, and again.

When We Make It was beautiful, and insightful, and heartbreaking and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to stay with Sarai and find out what happened to her and Estrella and Mami and Lala.

content warnings: addiction (drugs), body shaming, child abuse, death, domestic abuse, drug use/abuse, drug overdose, fatphobia, police brutality, teen pregnancy, miscarriage, pregnancy, racism, rape, sexism, sexual assault, sexual content, mentions of child protective services

I enjoyed Elisabet Velasquez's writing style, but struggled to be invested with this one. I think novels in verse work better for me as audiobooks, and so I just struggled to connect with this.

Thank you Penguin Teen for an ebook ARC of Elisabet Velasquez's When We Make It, out September 21 🎉

What does "making it" mean, and what are ways that we and people around us construe "success"? These are the questions Sarai, a first-generation Puerto Rican eighth grader, asks herself as she navigates identity, mental health, family, and systems that are meant to "help" her community but instead are rife with discrimination and derision. Everyone around her in Bushwick tells her that "making it" is leaving her community, but is this really the case?

Honest, empowering, and energetic, this novel-in-verse celebrates Sarai's coming-of-age with her Puerto Rican history, the strength of the women around her, and her redefinition of "making it."