Kendra

A Good Kind of Trouble

Becoming Brianna: Emmie & Friends

Girl in Reverse

Geography Club

How to Survive Middle School

Loveboat, Taipei

Amina's Song: Amina's Voice

"A compelling read about the quest for fame!"
      —Debbie Allen, star of Fame

"Redemption is a heartbeat away."
      —Guadalupe Garcia McCall, author of the Pura Belpre Award winner Under the Mesquite

Beatriz dreams of a life spent dancing--until tragedy on the day of her quinceañera changes everything.

Up until her fifteenth birthday, the most important thing in the world to Beatriz Mendez was her dream of becoming a professional dancer and getting herself and her family far from the gang life that defined their days--that and meeting her dance idol Debbie Allen on the set of her favorite TV show, Fame. But after the latest battle in a constant turf war leaves her brother, Junito, dead and her mother grieving, Beatriz has a new set of priorities. How is she supposed to feel the rhythm when her brother's gang needs running, when her mami can't brush her own teeth, and when the last thing she can remember of her old self is dancing with her brother, followed by running and gunshots? When the class brainiac reminds Beatriz of her love of the dance floor, her banished dreams sneak back in. Now the only question is: will the gang let her go?

Set in New Jersey in 1984, Beatriz's story is a timeless one of a teenager's navigation of romance, her brother's choices, and her own family's difficult past. A companion novel to the much-lauded Like Vanessa.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

Kendra

Coe Booth, 2008

A Good Kind of Trouble

Lisa Moore Ramée, 2019

Becoming Brianna: Emmie & Friends

Terri Libenson, 2020

Girl in Reverse

Barbara Stuber, 2014

Geography Club

Brent Hartinger, 2003

How to Survive Middle School

Donna Gephart, 2010

Loveboat, Taipei

Abigail Hing Wen, 2020

Amina's Song: Amina's Voice

Hena Khan, 2021