The Making of Yolanda la Bruja, Lorraine Avila
The Making of Yolanda la Bruja, Lorraine Avila
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The Making of Yolanda la Bruja

Author: Lorraine Avila

Narrator: Lorraine Avila

Unabridged: 10 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/27/2023


Synopsis

Elizabeth Acevedo has said that reading Lorraine Avila feels like an “UPPERCUT to the senses.” We couldn’t agree more. We have never encountered an author with prose of this sensitivity and fire.

Yolanda Alvarez is having a good year. She’s starting to feel at home at Julia De Burgos High, her school in the Bronx. She has her best friend Victory, and maybe something with José, a senior boy she’s getting to know. She’s confident her initiation into her family’s bruja tradition will happen soon.

But then a white boy, the son of a politician, appears at Julia De Burgos, and his vibes are off. And Yolanda’s initiation begins with a series of troubling visions of the violence this boy threatens. How can Yolanda protect her community, in a world that doesn’t listen? Only with the wisdom and love of
her family, friends, and community—and the Brujas Diosas, her ancestors and guides.

The Making of Yolanda La Bruja is the book this country, struggling with the plague of gun violence, so desperately needs–but which few could write. Here Lorraine Avila brings a story born from the intersection of race, justice, education, and spirituality that will capture readers everywhere.

Reviews

Goodreads review by BookOfCinz on April 16, 2023

The Making of Yolanda la Bruja reads like a YA BIPOC call to action, was very chaotic at times, but also filled with teachable moments. Honestly, I wanted to LOVE this book but in the end it felt insanely long- too long- at least 100 pages less and it would have been better. I wish the editor reele......more

Goodreads review by Lorraine on July 12, 2023

I wrote this book, but trust me I'm not being biased when I say this YA is everything :) Yolanda Noelis Alvarez is a Black Dominican teen Bruja being raised by her Bruja grandmother, Mama Tete, in the Bronx. When a boy enters Julia De Burgos High, her school in the South Bronx, the Bruja Diosas (her......more

Goodreads review by Chyann on June 22, 2023

There were quite a lot of social issues tackled here. Too many in my opinion. And the way the issues were presented, sometimes like literal lessons out of a history book, was frustrating. Readers, no matter the age, have got to be responsible for doing some work. That was largely missing. Also, the......more

Goodreads review by Dante on February 23, 2023

Thank you to the publishers at Levine Querido for the chance to read the eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Yolanda Alvarez is a sophomore at Julia de Burgos High who’s also a brujita in training. As she grows more into her role as a Bruja from a long line of spiritual magic, a......more

Goodreads review by Tamyka on September 11, 2023

Complex. Nuanced. Interesting. Relevant. Timely. I highly recommend this YA text about an Afrolatina sophomore growing up in New York City. The character development was well rounded and characters were dynamic and multifaceted. I’ve seen reviews claiming the author did too much but I would suggest......more