Overview

Lucia Cruz is turning eighteen this year. She should be having a debut, but she is not the debutante type. Everything about a traditional Filipino debut feels wrong for her. Besides, custom dictates that eighteen friends attend her her debut, and Lucia only has one friend-Esmé. But Esmé wants something different out of her senior year. And, on top of that, Lucia's mom has planned a debutante ball for her birthday behind her back. She'll be forced to cobble together a court before her beloved lola arrives from the Philippines. How far will Lucia stray from her comfort zone in order to appease her family-while staying true to herself? Packed with humor and heart, this is an unforgettable novel by a powerful voice in YA fiction.

Full Product Details

9781250845757

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Rogers' lush, vivid storytelling brings Albuquerque alive, and readers will feel deeply for Lucia's struggle with the terrible ordeal of knowing and being known... This should absolutely not be missed."" --Booklist (starred) ""Rogers attentively depicts issues surrounding race, gender, parental responsibility, divorce, and self-esteem via Lucia's numerous relationships, particularly with her mother. Lucia's stand-up comedy seeds humor throughout this cathartic read."" --Publishers Weekly ""Rogers' sophomore novel features rich, deep representation of Filipino experience in the U.S. as well as strong character development, as it follows a loner who finds connections one small, imperfect step at a time... Beautiful, relatable, and full of emotion."" --Kirkus

Author Information

Shannon C.F. Rogers is a multiracial American writer of Filipinx and European descent. Her debut novel, I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom, won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Youth Literature in 2024. She is also the author of Eighteen Roses. Shannon's writing has appeared in Bodega Magazine, Newfound Journal, and on stage with Tricklock Company, Lady Luck Productions, and the UNM Festival of New Plays. She earned her B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in Writing For Young People at Antioch University Los Angeles. She has served school communities in Albuquerque, Chicago, and NYC, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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