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WORK TITLE: What Will You Be?
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WEBSITE: https://yamilesmendez.com/
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Kirkus Reviews July 1, 2021, review of Mendez, Yamile Saied: WISH UPON A STRAY. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2020, , “Mendez, Yamile Saied: SHAKING UP THE HOUSE.”.
Children’s Bookwatch Nov., 2020. Mendez, Yamile Saied. , “Furia.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2020, , “Mendez, Yamile Saied: FURIA.”.
School Library Journal vol. 66 no. 12 Dec., 2020. Hickey, Katherine. , “MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Shaking Up the House.”. p. 92.
School Library Journal vol. 66 no. 3 Mar., 2020. Shaw, Michele. , “MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. On These Magic Shores.”. p. 106.
School Library Journal vol. 65 no. 6 June, 2019. Jones, Danielle. , “MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Where Are You From?”.
School Library Journal vol. 67 no. 5 May, 2021. Fakih, Kimberly Olson. , “MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. What Will You Be?”. p. 63.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 15, 2019, , “Mendez, Yamile Saied: WHERE ARE YOU FROM?”.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 15, 2020, , “Mendez, Yamile Saied: ON THESE MAGIC SHORES.”.
Booklist vol. 117 no. 17 May 1, 2021, Rosenfeld, Shelle. , “What Will You Be?”. p. 52.
Yamile Saied Mendez
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine-American Pura Belpré gold medal winning author. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children’s and Young Adult program. She writes picture books, middle grade, young adult and adult romance fiction. Yamile is a founding member of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx MG and YA authors. She’s represented by Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary.
How do I pronounce my name? Click on this clip from Teaching Books
FAQ
What is the first book that made you cry?
My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos
What’s your favorite book?
Choosing a favorite book is like asking who is my favorite child. I don’t have one book that holds the title, but the books I revisit every year are: The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta (and ALL of her other books), The Shadow of the Wind and the sequels by Carlos Ruiz Safón, His Dark Materials trilogy and the sequels by Philip Pullman, and all of Las Musas books.
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
First of all, if you’re writing, you’re not aspiring! Call yourself a writer. Then find your people. This will help you separate the process of writing a book from that of publishing one. Publishing is a business with ups and downs, and sometimes, the journey can be emotionally draining. Find friends who are at the same stage of the journey. It’s so fun to grow together and support each other! It’s important to find mentors who can guide you, but the most important people in your corner will be your critique group and the writer friends you make along the way.
Will you read/critique my book/introduce me to your agent/editor?
Unfortunately, I can’t read or critique your manuscript. I volunteer in the Musas’ mentorship program and on other programs like Pitchwars. Be on the lookout for their application period! Also, my agent has her own system of finding her clients, and I don’t interfere with that. Same with my editors who only take agented submissions.
Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
Yes! Three times: twice during traumatic personal events, and once at the beginning of the pandemic in March. But I still consumed stories, only in different media! I listened to my favorite audio books and watched my fair share of Netflix.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
I believe that sometimes we work so hard, we run out of steam. It’s time to fill the well then. As with readers’ block, I try to nourish my creative mind by spending time with my family, exercising, daydreaming, watching TV, reading, doing nothing, doing laundry, cooking, etc… In short, when I can’t write, I see this as a sign that I need to live my life and be present so I can have something to write about!
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
To thine own self be true.
If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
I’d be a sports commentator.
How do you balance your responsibility as a mother and your career as a writer?
Just like my husband does with his very demanding career. One day at a time, doing the most important things first.
Can I write a book with a character not of my background?
Hmmm. This is so tricky. Are you asking me for permission? If so, I can’t give it to you. My advice is to consider the why. Why do you need to write this story? Is there a way you can explore the themes from your personal point of view? Consider the stories that have been written from this marginalized perspective. If you want to be “a voice for the voiceless” keep in mind that no one is really voiceless. Sometimes the industry and society haven’t been paying attention to the stories being told. I always remember Mr. Rogers’ comment that first and foremost, he never wanted to hurt a child. Also, I think that there’s a lot I don’t know about what I don’t know. I imagine it’s the same for everyone. Research can only take you so far when you haven’t lived a particular experience.
Interview with Yamile Saied Méndez
by Sarah Schulzke Trump
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine-American who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults program. She’s a PB, MG, and YA author. Yamile gave a reading from her recent YA debut, Furia, at the BYU English Department Reading Series on October 16, 2020.
Inscape: When did you first come up with the idea for Furia, and when did you start writing it?
Yamile Saied Méndez: I wrote my very first story when I was seven, and I’ve always been obsessed with books and stories. But I came to the US to go to school, and it is the harsh reality that when you come from another country, studying literature or writing is a luxury which I didn’t have. I had to major in something practical, something that would make the effort of coming to another country worthwhile. So I put my writing on hold and I started international economics.
In 2006, I had the idea for a soccer player girl from Rosario, and I started writing it for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). By then I was in my late 20s. I had four babies under the age of five, and I would just write during nap time and at night.
After I finished NaNoWriMo, I was so hooked on that feeling of typing “The End.” But when I went with a critical eye, I knew that the story that I had typed was nothing like the one I had in my mind. So I started studying the craft. I joined a writers group with people that I’m still friends with to this day; I attended workshops; eventually I did my master’s program, and I would go back to Furia over and over. I would always say, “I know what I want to write, but I don’t have the tools yet.”
Eventually, I did a complete rewrite in 2016 and then it sold in 2018. It’s been a long way, but Furia has been in the back of my mind for a long, long time.
Inscape: What was the novel-writing process that you discovered during that time?
YSM: I always need to know what my character wants. I’m working on my second draft for my next Scholastic book, which is a horse girl story, and I’ve been grappling because I know what she wants emotionally, I just need a tangible thing that would show her journey. That’s something that I always need to find when I first start writing. It doesn’t really matter if they get their object of desire or not, but they need to want something so much that they will make any sacrifice to achieve that goal.
When I start playing with a first draft, I’ll just daydream a lot. When I’m riding my bike or driving kids around, I daydream. Then I will sit down and write a super loose outline, kind of like a synopsis. I don’t plan beat by beat because I get bored. It’s super time-consuming and then I get bored.
Sometimes when I’m writing the first draft, I will get a lot of ideas at the end about my character, and then I will need to go back to the beginning and plan them in a smoother way. I always say that the first draft is like putting all the puzzle pieces together, and then the subsequent drafts are the chances to analyze if the pieces work or if they belong in a different story. It’s kind of like a math process. That’s always my favorite part: having something to revise and polish into something good. It’s such a satisfying process.
Inscape: You’ve written a lot of genres: short stories, personal essays, picture books, middle grade novels, YA novels. How do these genres compare, and how are they different from each other?
YSM: A picture book gives me the opportunity to concentrate on a single question or a single dilemma that my character has, and then I only have 300 words at the most to explore that dilemma or problem. In a full novel you have 350 pages to explore perhaps the same topic, but it’s just a different viewpoint. It’s like zooming in a camera really, really deep, or giving you more of a full view of what’s going on around your character. It’s just fun to be able to explore things and themes from different perspectives. I learn a lot about myself in that way.
Inscape: Is there a certain age group or genre that you think of as your genre, or do you claim them all equally?
YSM: I do love writing picture books. They’re so hard, though, because you have to appeal to two audiences: the child, and then the gatekeeper who’s going to be reading the story to the kid. So they’re hard; they’re satisfying, but they’re hard.
I think I really, really love to write about middle graders and young adults. They’re both periods of time in which a person is right in the middle of things. With middle grade you’re coming out of childhood and into puberty, and puberty is such an exciting time of life and also so scary. With YA, a person is on the verge of becoming an adult, and the decisions that you make at that age can affect your whole life. Being in the middle of those critical times in a person’s life is super exciting. I guess because I live between cultures and between languages, it’s just something that attracts me—to explore how people find their way when they’re in the middle of different worlds.
Inscape: Have you always written from your own experience, or did you ever write any speculative fiction?
YSM: It’s funny, because I am a reader of speculative fiction, but I write mostly contemporary. I do have a middle grade book, On These Magic Shores, that has a little bit of magic, but it’s so minimal.
Although my stories all come in contemporary shape, they all have their roots in fantasy or fairy tales in one way or another. I love reading fairy tales, like the Grimm brothers fairy tales and the Andersen fairy tales. There is that epigraph of The Little Mermaid in Furia. The original Little Mermaid always makes me think about Diego Maradona. He was Argentina’s main soccer player. He won the World Cup in Mexico. When the World Cup was in the US in 1994, he was found using drugs. His career kind of collapsed after that. He would always say that in Atlanta 1994, his legs were cut off. That image always stuck with me: how for a soccer player, not to be able to play was like having no legs. It all came together with the little mermaid, the things that she had to give up to get her legs.
Inscape: Furia deals with heavy topics, especially violence against women. How did you decide you wanted to write about something this heavy, and how did you find the courage to do it?
YSM: I don’t know if I “found the courage.” It was like that quote from E.L. Doctorow: “Writing is like driving at night—only as far as the headlights will take you.” When I started writing Furia, I didn’t know that I would delve so much into the feminist aspect of it. But it’s a story about fútbol player girls, and I cannot ignore the fact that women today would not be playing fútbol if it hadn’t been for the work of the early feminists.
There’s this author, Martine Leavitt. She wrote a book that’s super harsh called My Book of Life by Angel, and it talks about child prostitution in Canada. If you knew Martine, she’s a super soft-spoken and proper woman. People can’t conceive that she would even have an interest in writing about child prostitution or child trafficking. What she said is that the situation of girls and women, especially indigenous ones, going missing in Canada is so blatant, and people ignore it like it’s not happening right under their noses, so the least she could do was to bear witness. In Camila’s situation or with the Ni Una Menos movement, there’s really not a lot that I can do personally, but I can bring a little bit of awareness to these topics.
The other thing was showing how the greatest danger that Camila faces every day is in her own home. That is sadly the reality of so many women, who are not in danger of strangers, but from the people that are supposed to love and protect them.
So it wasn’t as much as me being courageous, but just me trying to be honest with my character and the story and the situation in which she lives. I wouldn’t have been writing from the heart or writing an authentic story if I hadn’t acknowledged that environment in which Camila is growing up.
Inscape: One of the most poignant scenes in Furia is the march for the missing girl. What was it like writing that scene?
YSM: When people ask me what was the hardest part to write, writing that march was definitely the hardest, because it happens every day. Every single day, you open a newspaper and there’s always at least one girl. It’s never ending. I have been at marches and seen that anguish. When I wrote the first draft of that scene, my editor said that she loved it but she knew that I could go deeper. It’s a dark place and I didn’t know if I wanted to go there, but I wanted to take my readers and help them experience what it’s like to be in the midst of a march like that.
Inscape: What did you draw from in writing about violence against women?
YSM: I remember being in seventh grade the first time that I heard about a girl that went missing and was found dead. Her name was Marisol Morales. She was from my province. The person that spearheaded the movement to find the people who had killed her and have them be held accountable with justice was a nun—the principal of the school that she attended. I also attended an all-girls school, and because Marisol’s life paralleled mine so much, I could really see these things happening to me or to the girls that I loved.
This violence not only affects the girls and women but the whole of society. Boys and men are also a casualty of the violence and misogyny, because they grow watching these toxic examples of how to be a man, and they perpetuate the same cycle. If we’re going to change our society, we need to change the mentality of everybody. So it was a combination of things, sadly, combining experiences of people that I’ve met in real life with stories that I see in the headlines, and just imagining what I would do if I were growing up in the world today.
Inscape: I wanted to talk a little about the word “furia,” because that becomes so important in the story. When did you know this was going to be Camila’s nickname, and how did it come about?
YSM: Furia is that alter ego that Camila takes upon herself to deal on the field, but then in the end to deal with her problems in life. It’s fueled by the anger that she feels of all the things that she can’t control. In that way it is after the literal translation of “fury.” But in other ways Furia just rings like a title. Like an appointment. Like she was appointed as the fury of the team.
I wanted to give her a persona outside of the field, a name that she earned but that she didn’t necessarily choose herself. A name that fit her. I was also very careful with how she got the nickname. When I started writing the book, she had always been Furia, but it was during one of the revisions that I decided to just have Roxana’s mom baptize her with the name. Roxana’s mom is a Chinese immigrant in Argentina who loves the culture, and I just like the symbolism of another woman who was super soft-spoken and had nothing to do with fútbol baptizing Camila in this way.
Inscape: In a lot of ways, the title is the theme of the book. What does the word “furia” mean to you?
YSM: “Furia” is a combination of things. Sometimes girls are told to be nice and follow all the rules, but if you are really going to break the chains of intergenerational trauma or abuse, or go out and live your dreams, or even find the love of your life—that can be a revolutionary concept when you have lived in this society for generations—when you put all of that together, you can’t just be the nice girl that you were taught. We always hear that love will heal everything, but sometimes there is that righteous anger that has to come before for certain sectors of society—women or whoever it may be—to say, “No more. This is as far as we are going, and now we’re going to do things a different way.”
Camila needed to ignite that fury, that anger, to break away from all those molds that she was given. For me Furia is, like I said, the appointment of an archetype. And that’s what we need to be able to follow our dreams and not the rules that we’re given.
Inscape: Furia was chosen for Reese’s Book Club in September. What was that whole experience like for you?
YSM: When I started writing, a friend of mine, Renée Ahdieh, said to write down a list of things that she called “OMG moments.” It could be outlandish things, things out of your control, like hitting the bestseller list or getting a call from an editor. Basically these different authorial events that people look forward to when they’re starting their career. But being in Reese’s Book Club was never on my list, because it wasn’t even a possibility.
When I was working on Furia, I would go to all these writers’ conferences and pitch this book, and I would get amazing feedback on the writing and the story, but they would all say there was no market for story set in Argentina, with so much Spanish thrown in, or even a story about a soccer player. Going from that to Reese choosing it was very surreal. My publicist doesn’t even know how an advanced readers copy (an ARC) of Furia came into Reese’s hands.
The best part has been the reaction of the Argentine community. Argentine people will celebrate a compatriot being successful at anything, even if it’s chess or Math Olympics, so to receive all that love for a book has been incredible. It was a super emotional moment for me to see all the little Argentine flags on Reese’s posts in the comments.
Inscape: You’re part of a collective for female and non-binary Latinx authors called Las Musas. Can you tell us more about how that started?
YSM: Back in 2017, I met Aida Salazar at a conference in California. We both had agents and our books were going to debut in 2018, and we didn’t have a debut group for different reasons. So we got together and we said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a group of Latinas?”
As Latina authors, we had heard so many times when we had books out on submission, “We love the story, but we already have another Latina,” and it turns out they had somebody from the Dominican Republic like Julie Alvarez, whose stories are so different from mine. Or another publishing house would say, “I already have another Latina author,” and it was Pam Muñoz Ryan, who’s third-generation Mexican. She wrote Esperanza Rising. My book had nothing to do with Esperanza Rising. In the industry there was this myth of pitting a Latina against a Latina, and they had the one token Latina author. So we said, What if instead of competing against each other, we joined forces and created this community to support each other?
That’s how Las Musas was created. It grew from a group of four or five to I don’t even know how many we are now. It’s been an amazing sisterhood that shows that there’s not only one Latina story. There is such a big spectrum of stories, and we wanted to show that you can have a character being a child and having adventures in the snow or dealing with a first period or finding Aztec gods in the pit of a new Mexican volcano (like Jen Cervantes’s books), and it just happened that all these characters have a Latinx origin. But they’re just kids being heroes or doing whatever else.
Inscape: What changes in Latinx literature have you been able to see in your time with Las Musas?
YSM: It’s incredible that I used to know the name of every Latina author coming out in a certain year, and now we’re so many that I lost count. We used to be able to say, if it’s from Argentina you knew what kind of story it was going to be. But now, for example, we’ve got Romina Garber. She wrote Lobizona. “Lobizona” is the female version of werewolf. The book is based on this Argentine myth that the seventh son in a family will become a werewolf, and the seventh daughter will be a witch. That’s why the president of the country is usually the godparent for this child: to break this curse. Even to this day the president of the country does become the godparent of a seventh child by law.
It’s just amazing to see that Lobizona and Furia came out the same year, they both have titles in Spanish, and they have nothing to do with each other except that the characters are from Argentina. There is room for all of our stories and they’re so different.
Inscape: Do you have any advice for breaking into the industry, especially for minority writers?
YSM: It sounds like a cliché, but it’s the truth: The people that make it are the ones who don’t give up. I have known so many people throughout all these years who were amazing writers who just got tired and discouraged. This is not really one race. It is a lifestyle: the writing lifestyle.
Sometimes you need to be able to let go of the story of your heart. You can always go back to it. That’s kind of what happened to me with Furia. It’s not my first book that was published, but if it hadn’t been for Where Are You From? and my Scholastic books I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet my editor and give Furia a fighting chance.
Be authentic, though. Don’t write for the market. Before Blizzard Besties was acquired, I was super discouraged because I’d had so many rejections. For two years, my agent and I had been on submission for a middle grade that I still love, that never found a home. Every time my agent emailed me, I was afraid that she was going to dump me. I was talking to a friend of mine who’s an author with Utah ties, Courtney Alameda, and I said, “You know, maybe in my next book I just won’t make my character a Latina character, because I feel like I need to break through and then write a character that looks like me.” She was super supportive of whatever decision I took, but she said, “Remember to always be true to yourself.” After she said that, I decided to make my character in Blizzard Besties a daughter of Argentine people. When we sent it out on submission, it happened that this Scholastic editor had a dad from Argentina. She resonated with the story so much. She loved it. Now we’re working on our first series together. If I hadn’t been authentic and true to myself, that would’ve never happened.
When you are authentic to yourself and to your goals, that’s when you’re going to find the joy in the writing. People always say that when the book comes out, it’s such an amazing feeling. But really the most magical moments happen when you’re writing by yourself. That’s when I have my greatest joys. Seeing the growth in the story and being able to see the things that I can do is just an amazing feeling. That’s something that doesn’t depend on the reviews or the awards or the recognition. It’s the process that makes it all worthwhile.
Las Musas website: https://www.lasmusasbooks.com/
THE PEN TEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH YAMILE SAIED MÉNDEZ
By: Jared Jackson
October 8, 2020
The PEN Ten is PEN America’s weekly interview series. This week, Jared Jackson speaks with Yamile Saied Méndez, author of Furia (Algonquin, 2020).
Yamile Saied Méndez headshot
1. What was the first book or piece of writing that had a profound impact on you?
The first book that impacted me as a reader and inspired me to write was El Visitante by Alma Maritano. Maritano was an international award-winning author and educator from my hometown, Rosario, Argentina, who wrote during and after the military dictatorship. Although her work was banned by the authoritarian government, she showed the truth of our society through the eyes and experiences of her young protagonists, kids like me growing up in their barrios, trying to make sense of life in a new democracy.
2. How does your writing navigate truth? What is the relationship between truth and fiction?
Truth depends on the person telling their story. I don’t claim to tell the truth in my fiction, but everything I write comes from the same well of lived experiences and observations. My job as a writer is to tell my characters’ truth and hope that it will help the reader see the truth in themselves.
3. What does your creative process look like? How do you maintain momentum and remain inspired?
I’m a very disciplined writer, and since writing is my full-time job, I dedicate the time and effort that my stories require in the different stages of the process. I also make sure to stay current in my reading, and I delight in enjoying everything from picture books to adult nonfiction. My love of words stems from my love of reading, and I stay inspired by discovering new worlds created by my fellow authors. Also, writing is more than time spent sitting at a desk in front of a computer. It’s important to allow ourselves to be surprised and enchanted by the world and people around us, to be inspired by the injustices and the sorrow we experience and witness, and leave a record of the beauty and the dark aspects of our world in our stories.
“Truth depends on the person telling their story. I don’t claim to tell the truth in my fiction, but everything I write comes from the same well of lived experiences and observations. My job as a writer is to tell my characters’ truth and hope that it will help the reader see the truth in themselves.”
4. What is one book or piece of writing you love that readers might not know about?
I love The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. Although I write mostly contemporary fiction, I love to read fantasy novels, and the trio by this Australian author is so meaningful and expertly crafted that I love to lose myself in it. The first installment, Finnikin of the Rock, won the Printz Award in 2009, but I wish more people would know not only about the rest of the trilogy, but also her complete body of work which explores such a wide spectrum—from racism, to exile, religion, language, love, family, etc.—that I’m always in awe when I read her words.
5. How can writers affect resistance movements?
Writing is a revolutionary act in itself, especially for members of marginalized communities who have sometimes been incorrectly labeled “voiceless” through the years. We have a voice, and traditionally marginalized authors have been writing for a long time. The stories they created paved the way for me, and authors like me, to tell our stories today. Not only stories of resistance and oppression, but also of joy and fulfillment, of victory and love—which are revolutionary concepts too. The mind can change when exposed to different ideas and worldviews, and as an author, I recognize the power and responsibility I have to be as authentic as possible in every word attributed to me.
“Writing is more than time spent sitting at a desk in front of a computer. It’s important to allow ourselves to be surprised and enchanted by the world and people around us, to be inspired by the injustices and the sorrow we experience and witness, and leave a record of the beauty and the dark aspects of our world in our stories.”
6. What is the last book you read? What are you reading next?
I read Lobizona by fellow Argentine-American author Romina Garber, and the book is about Latine werewolves and wizards. I loved it, and I can’t wait for its sequel, Cazadora. The next book on my queue is the finished copy of Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz. I read an early draft, and I loved this story about the first Puerto Rican dragon rider competing in the dragon world cup games. It comes out October 6!
7. What do you consider to be the biggest threat to free expression today? Have there been times when your right to free expression has been challenged?Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez book cover
The biggest threat is soft censoring by “gatekeepers” that prevent stories from reaching their readers because of their own prejudice or even fear. From publishing professionals who can’t connect with stories told from different perspectives, to well-intentioned but misguided parents who think some themes will be too hard for their kids—when the world their kids live in can be darker than the stories in the pages of a book. Vital stories fail in reaching their intended audience, which is tragic.
8. What advice do you have for young writers?
The advice that has helped me the most is, “To thine own self be true.” Write what inspires you, what makes you proud to have your name attached to, what makes you laugh or think or keeps you awake at night. Don’t go chasing for trends or other people’s approval.
“We have a voice, and traditionally marginalized authors have been writing for a long time. The stories they created paved the way for me, and authors like me, to tell our stories today. Not only stories of resistance and oppression, but also of joy and fulfillment, of victory and love—which are revolutionary concepts too. The mind can change when exposed to different ideas and worldviews, and as an author, I recognize the power and responsibility I have to be as authentic as possible in every word attributed to me.”
9. Which writers working today are you most excited by?
So many writers are doing amazing work! I’m very excited by everything being published by the authors who are part of Las Musas, the first marketing collective of Latine children’s authors in the United States. From picture books to middle grade and young adult novels and anthologies, the Latine community is showing that the stories of our nations aren’t competing against each other, but building on each other.
10. Which writer, living or dead, would you most like to meet? What would you like to discuss?
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, who tragically passed away this year, and whom I never had the pleasure to meet. I’d love to talk about his characters in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series whom I love as if they were my friends. And also, Melina Marchetta, to talk about everything Lumatere.
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine American who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the MFA program in writing for children and young adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Méndez is also part of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx middle grade and young adult authors. Furia is her first novel for young adult readers.
Yamile Saied Méndez Scores With Furia
BY LAURA SIMEON • SEPT. 15, 2020
Yamile Saied Méndez Scores With Furia
Yamile Saied Méndez. Photo by Erin Summerhill
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez (Algonquin, Sept. 15) takes readers into the life of Camila, a resident of the fútbol-mad Argentine city of Rosario. A successful student who dreams of going to university in the U.S. and becoming a professional futbolera, Camila is juggling competing pressures. Her hardworking seamstress mother sees medicine as a more stable career path. Meanwhile, her budding romance with childhood friend Diego is complicated by his new superstar status playing for Juventus FC in Turin, Italy. Pulled in different directions, Camila must figure out what her heart really wants. This page-turner has exciting soccer action, thoughtful reflections on gender equality on and off the pitch, and an achingly real love story. Furia already caught the attention of Reese Witherspoon, who made it the YA selection for her book club this month. Méndez spoke with me over Zoom from her home in Utah; the conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Your book is perfectly timed with the huge following the U.S. women’s national soccer team has.
I’ve been writing this book forever—I started in 2007! Of course, I was working on so many [other] things in the meantime. I kept going back to it, but I feel like the market was ready now. In the past I had amazing feedback, but everybody said that nobody would want to read about a girl growing up in Argentina. This is the piece that I submitted for the Walter Dean Myers grant, so I knew there was something there. [Editor’s note: Méndez was one of five winners of the inaugural grant given by We Need Diverse Books in 2015.]
Does Camila’s story have autobiographical elements?
I was born and raised in Rosario, and [like hers] my family is composed of immigrants from all over. My grandfather was Syrian Lebanese, and although nobody in my family spoke Arabic after [he] passed away, we were very much connected to the culture. I’m [also] a descendant of Indigenous people from Argentina, but sadly my mom was an orphan from a very early age so we lost that connection to her family. I went to an all-girls school like Camila. My parents were not of means at all—my mom was a nanny, my dad was a taxi driver—but they were adamant about education. Having been teenagers during the dictatorship at the end of the ’70s, they knew that education was the only way out of our situation.
Diego grew up struggling and has achieved wild success in Europe, yet he feels so homesick; you approach this with such nuance.
That experience of Diego missing home is completely me being away from home and then going back as having “made it,” because I am the first in my extended family to have gone to college. I always say that I left Rosario, but Rosario never left me. It’s the call of the land where you were born. Although I love to travel, I left thinking that one day I would go back to my country, and I never totally said goodbye. The only reason I’m here today and have the privilege to write in a foreign language and have people read this book is because of the sacrifice of all who came before me. With Diego, it’s his desire to pay it forward to the little kids who maybe have an even brighter potential than he did. He sees himself everywhere when he goes back to Rosario. It’s that struggle between assimilating and keeping your roots.
The obstacles the girls on the soccer team face are central to the book.
As a child, I wasn’t allowed [to play soccer], not because my parents were horrible people, [but] because of the stigma. In Latin America there’s a big tradition of physical education at school, and so we played the accepted games for girls: volleyball, handball, field hockey. But we didn’t play football, not even at recess. El Buen Pastor [where Camila teaches children living in poverty] is a real place—it was the women’s jail in the 1800s. Football 100 years ago was forbidden to women by law; we could go to a place like [that] for being disobedient daughters. These women, these futboleras, were still playing even knowing that. What they did 100 years ago made it possible for us.
Feminism is an important theme in the book, along with violence against women. The march the girls go on when the sister of a teammate disappears is very powerful.
Every time I open [an Argentine] newspaper there’s at least one new name. When I was in school in the ’90s, there was one girl, María Soledad [Morales], that marked my generation. She was the first big name that we knew. She had been killed just for being a girl. In the past, this violence was explained as “oh, they must have done something,” or “what were they wearing”—the typical things that are said here, too. But lately I feel like the message that we need to do something as a society is reaching every family. The violence is just brutal. A lot of it lies in having been a colonized nation: This violence that was inflicted on the Indigenous people dripped down into society, and it’s always the most vulnerable who suffer the most. The first Ni Una Menos [Argentine feminist movement] march was in 2015, and now there are more and more.
In your author’s note you talk about the context for dark-skinned Camila’s nicknames of “Negra” and “Negrita.”
I wanted to address the colorism and racism that exist in Argentina, because Camila is called “Negra” and that was my nickname growing up. I never took offense because it was an endearment, [but] I never explored what it meant. I’m darker skinned than most Argentines because of my Middle Eastern and Indigenous backgrounds, but I always felt 100% Argentine. I wanted to warn the U.S. reader that we didn’t have a civil rights movement as the U.S. did in the ’60s, so our racial relationships are complex but are different. When [readers] encounter somebody calling my character “Negra” and she doesn’t call it out, it’s not because she’s scared. It doesn't even faze her because it’s not on her radar—she's fighting for her life just for being a woman. Maybe after she’s been outside of Argentina, she can explore what it meant. I wanted the reader to know that I wasn’t unaware of this dynamic. It’s just that it wasn't realistic for her to be choosing that fight when she had bigger fights.
What do you like about writing for teens?
I love YA because I have such admiration for teenagers. At that age, I was ready to come to the United States by myself, and my parents encouraged me so much. Teenagers have these beliefs and hope for the future, and that makes them believe that they can do whatever they want, but there is such magic in that attitude. I keep going back to those feelings and that mindset. I love to explore these big questions. Instead of finding the answers in their family or their friends, these young adults have to find [them] inside their own hearts for themselves. The stakes of the decisions we make at that age are so huge.
Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.
Interview with Yamile Saied Méndez, Author of Furia
JEN JOHNSON / SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 / NO COMMENTS
Furia, by Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez, is the gripping, new YA debut igniting positive reviews around the world. It introduces readers to Camila, an athletic dynamo intent on playing soccer and taking charge of her life in the face of abuse, sexism, and at the risk of losing love and relationships. In addition to receiving a deep and beautiful education of Argentina, the reader gets the chance to fall in love with a believable cast of characters and, of course, soccer. Kirkus Reviews calls Furia “a riveting coming-of-age story.” Dead Darlings calls it the book you wish you had when you were in high school. Yamile generously took the time to speak with us about her writing process.
DD: You must have played soccer, yes?
No, I didn’t. I grew up in Argentina and, at that time, they didn’t have teams or playing opportunities for girls. I did grow up a huge fan of the game like everyone else. The neighborhood you were born in determined which team you rooted for, forever.
When I came to the United States when I was 19 years old, I began to play recreationally and the girls I was playing with had so much more experience than I did because they grew up playing from a very young age. But, my children play now. We’re at the soccer pitch all day, everyday.
You’ve created gorgeous picture books and middle-grade readers. Was the process of writing your first YA novel different from writing your other books?
Actually, the transition was very fluid because I approach all of my stories in the same way. There’s not a mental switch for me so much as there’s such a subtle line. When I think about writing for different age groups, writing picture books is so incredibly hard in terms of word count. I have to accomplish a lot in less space in terms of developing the scope of themes and character arcs.
I started writing Furia in 2006 before my other books. I’ve been working on the story for a long time. The only change in mentality I had is when I picture who I was when I was Camila’s age.
Did Camila come to you first or the story?
The theme of the book is what came to me first. And, Camila has always been the same person. At the beginning, she just wanted to go to the United States to go to school. As the years went by and I got to know my character better and the world around me changed, her goals changed. It’s amazing to me who she was and who she is now. First and foremost, she was always a lover of the sport.
Camila has always been the same person from the beginning and she came to me first with her whole baggage. The family was already established in my mind. Her journey with her mom changed the most as I was writing the story. At the beginning, I thought I was writing primarily about a journey with her dad but it was really about the relationship she had with her mom. When I first met Camila, she didn’t want to be her mom. As I wrote, I realized if she was going to heal and break the cycle of generational trauma she needed to understand who her mother was. The line between making one set of decisions to another, it was more subtle and not as clear.
Camila is such a part of her family and that’s why she starts the story naming her family members that are still such a part of her. It’s that burden and gift of carrying the burdens and hopes of the past generations. As she begins to succeed in ways that the women before her couldn’t have imagined, we see she couldn’t have achieved what she did without those examples. She couldn’t have existed outside of her environment. She does have that warrior nature. She has that because of the people who made her, her environment, society and her family. At the end, whenever she’s talking, she knows she’s part of that chain and that she’s making her own mark. There is a little bit of freedom for her to allow herself space to make mistakes and at the same time she had the pull of the mission of what she wanted to accomplish in her life, to do what she wanted to do.
I’m a very visual writer. I see everything super clearly in my mind, even the minor characters like the people Camila sees on the bus. The people in my books are people I’ve seen in my own life. To me, when I was writing, they were as real as Camila.
As you write, you include so many details about your home country including phrases and words in Spanish. There is enough Spanish in the text for the reader to understand how Camila thinks in her first language. How did you achieve this balance?
That was a hard thing to accomplish. I didn’t grow up with English. We didn’t use it and no one else in my family did. Now, when I go back to Argentina, with Americanization, there are more English words included in everyday life. When I was a child living there, everything would be translated, even titles of movies. Now, you can add in words in English and no one will bat an eyelash.
In order to access my memories, I had to give the illusion the characters were speaking Spanish. Initially, it was hard to know which words to add in Spanish. I made a point of adding things that were untranslatable. That was a conscious act in the revisions. Making sure language and dialogue sounded authentic, that words and speech patterns would be recognizable. I’m glad I can say this, if anybody had told me the amount of work it would take me, if anyone had told me, I wouldn’t have daydreamed about it and wouldn’t have attempted to do it. Looking back, I can see all of the layers of revision that went into it. I worked to make sure this piece was not performative, to not portray the story or my country like a spectacle or just to educate. I wanted the book to be a mirror or a window glass, to have the language and culture be as transparent as possible.
Was there anything you had to cut that was hard to let go of?
So many parts. It’s hard to remember exactly what. But yes, I had to cut a lot about the kids from the Good Shepherd. In a way, I was glad I had to keep the story under a certain word count. It made me think about what was most important. The most important character in those scenes was Karen. I used to have more attention on the boys. When I went back in during several revisions, it was clear she was the most captivating character. The story had the chance for Karen and her group of girls to shine. That was wonderful to encounter. A special shout-out to my editor, Sarah Alpert, who was incredible in guiding me to find the gems of the story. She encouraged me to polish those and to not spread myself too thin. Even when I was writing the acknowledgements she came back with edits!
One thing I wish I could’ve had space for was to go to the soccer stadium, but those two scenes didn’t go with her story. It was more a part of Diego’s story. I would love for people to experience what it’s like to go to a soccer stadium in Argentina. It’s unforgettable and indescribable, the intensity and the emotion you can feel. Here, when I go to the MSL games, I love them and they are so different from what you experience in Argentina. In the United States, I also love the intensity of the women’s games, how there’s that feedback between the audience and the team. That alchemy is hard to explain.
In Furia, you highlight the different roles that women and girls can and do play in each other’s lives. Can you speak about this?
At the beginning of my writing journey with Furia, it was unintentional. These characters were just born because I was fortunate enough to go to an all-girl’s school. For some, it’s hell but for me it was a blessing. I’m still best friends with my friends from elementary school. It’s amazing when you eliminate the boy element from society because I had that opportunity to find community even though I wasn’t part of a team. I had my sisterhood at school and I had incredible role models in my family and my community. I grew up seeing female figures changing the world, the presence of these women changing history. Eva Peron’s presence is still very real today. When I was writing, I thought about how we now see women fighting against obstacles in every other aspect of society except for soccer. As I was revising, I had the opportunity to highlight how other women impacted Camila. At the beginning of my writing this book, I was closer to Camila’s age and now I’m closer to the mom’s age and that was an enlightening exercise to examine my life and the women of my generation. It was a study in womanhood and the power we hold over our own lives.
I knew that Camila was always going to save herself. Even when she didn’t have soccer to save her at the beginning, she was never going to choose the route to go with Diego even though it’s true love. She had to learn to love herself a little more.
Your book begins with the powerful line, “Lies have short legs”, an adage that circles back to the reader several times in the book. Can you talk about this and what it means?
That’s the sentence I grew up with. Mentiras tienen patas cortas. That phrase exists in every culture in one way or another. I feel like Camila had been trying to justify the line to her parents, as in, this is the only way I can achieve my goals and at the same time she was lying to herself. It was just a way for her to deal with the disappointment she might have faced if she told her mom the truth and her mom said I won’t sign your papers. She wasn’t ready for that reality and once she started being true to herself, it started getting better for her even if it wasn’t easier. Following her dreams or the plan for her whole life or to follow her love, Diego, to Spain. She would’ve been happy but there would’ve always been that remorse–what if she would’ve believed in herself. And, that’s how it comes full circle because, in the end, she isn’t lying anymore. There are things she lost along the way and there always are when you make choices because there are doors you are always closing behind you. In the end, she was honest with herself.
Who did you write this story for?
First, I wrote it for myself because I would’ve loved to have read this story as a teenager when I was growing up and forming myself. I want girls to read this story as well as their parents and the gatekeepers. Sometimes, I feel we put down girls and their interests. They are beautiful and glorious! I’d love boys and men to read this book and to remember that girls contain multitudes. Just because girls love books doesn’t mean they don’t love sports.
The other day, we were at a scrimmage with my son’s team. He plays at a very high level and, on this day, they were floundering. I love talking strategy with coaches and some of them, a few who are Latin American, dismissed my comments. That’s another reason why I would love men and boys to read Furia, so they can realize there is space for women in this beautiful sport and to realize amazing things are happening. I’m excited for this new generation to have the opportunity to have success on the pitch and to be compensated monetarily. They can’t play if they aren’t paid.
I’m grateful and floored by the early reaction and feedback that I’m seeing from Furia. I try to stay away from reviews but I’m really encouraged by the reaction I’m seeing around Furia and this kind of story. When I saw the first sketch of the cover, I cried. I couldn’t imagine anything better. The artist, Rochelle Baker, really got Camila. I love the expression on her face. I’m so grateful that a brown Argentine got to be on the cover because the majority of children there are brown-skinned kids.
Yamile Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine-American who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children’s and Young Adult program. She’s a PB, MG, and YA author. Yamile is also part of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx MG and YA authors.
Yamile Saied Méndez talks FURIA and the Argentina soccer scene
Ryane DeFalco BlogBooksBooks - Interviews October 1, 2020 10:33am 779
Each week, an accomplished published author takes over the YEM Twitter account for Thursday’s Twitter Takeover. Each week, the YA author will answer questions, tell stories, and give advice on our social media. This week author Yamile Saied Méndez will be taking over our Twitter account. She is the author of the YA book, FURIA.
Born and raised in Rosario, Argentina Yamile Saied Méndez was destined to fall in love with soccer. Yamile followed Argentinian fútbol religiously even after emigrating to the United States. Now, in her first YA novel FURIA, Yamile shares the story of one girl’s struggle to rise above the expectations her family and society have for her. Check out YEM’s interview with Yamile below:
Young Entertainment Mag: This is your first YA novel. How does writing for young adults differ from writing for other audiences?
Yamile Saied Méndez: In a way, there isn’t a different with how I approach the story in the writing process whether it’s a picture book or a novel for middle graders or young adults. But the interaction with the readers after the book has been published has been a wonderful surprise. I don’t often hear from little children who have loved my book since they don’t have access to devices, but my YA readers have been very vocal and passionate about how FURIA resonated with them. I’m very humbled and grateful for the expressions of love and support, and the ways in which the story now belongs to these readers.
YEM: Your book is called FURIA. Tell us about it.
Yamile: FURIA is the story of Camila Hassan who dreams of one day becoming a professional soccer player. Her city, Rosario, is one of the soccer capitals of the world, exporting players like Lionel Messi and other legends. She plays in secret until her team qualifies for an international tournament and she needs her parents’ permission. Right then, her childhood crush comes back to Rosario with the determination to renew their relationship, and Camila finds that love can be the most difficult obstacle of all.
YEM: Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
Yamile: Although FURIA isn’t a memoir or a novel based in my own life, there are a lot of intersections between Camila’s and my journey. I was born and raised in Rosario, and I love soccer. I too learned English with a dictionary, and my family comes from all over the world. But most of all, FURIA was born of my love for soccer, books, and Rosario.
YEM: You love meteor showers and astrology… do you plan on writing a sci-fi novel one day?
Yamile: I’ll never say never! When the right character brings me a compelling story, I’ll be ready to tell it.
YEM: The main character in FURIA is Camila Hassan. Do you have anything in common with her? Are you athletic like she is?
Yamile: I love sports of all kids. I haven’t had a soccer team for a while, but I’m an avid runner and biker.
YEM: FURIA is a soccer player – what’s your favorite sport?
Yamile: Hmmm. Soccer! But I will watch any sports, and if a fellow Argentine is competing, I’ll cheer for them even if it’s chess.
YEM: FURIA has the chance to travel to a different country to pursue her dreams. What was your experience like emigrating to America and becoming an author?
Yamile: Coming to college in the US had been a dream of mine all my life, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to pursue an education. While here I met my family, and our children were born in this beautiful country that is now my home. At the same time, not a day goes by that I don’t miss Argentina viscerally and wish I could be “home.” Like Diego and Camila, I have learned you can love two or more places with the same intensity.
YEM: Finally, if you had an alter ego name, like how Camila is known as LA FURIA, what would your name be?
Yamile: I’d be: La Turca, after the nickname of my youth because of my Syrian-Lebanese ancestry
La Rosarina, after my home town, and what some of my Latine friends call me in the US.
Anteojita, after the character of Manuel García Ferrer, a Spain born Argentina cartoonist and illustrator. My siblings called me Anteojita because of my love of books and school.
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Latinxs and the MFA: A Chat with Emerging Writer Yamile Saied Méndez
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Writer Yamile Saied Méndez, surrounded by her family
Many aspiring writers look to MFA programs as the surest path to refining their writing skills. Yamile Saied Méndez, a native of Argentina who resides in Utah, is a recent graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing program (VCFA). We were delighted to chat with her about her experiences.
LKL: Let’s get some background. When and how did you catch the writing bug?
Yamile: I’ve always loved stories and books. It wasn’t until my grandfather died, when I was six years old, that I wanted to tell my own stories. True to my writing process (which I recognized much later in life), the story simmered in my mind for a couple of years. I finally put my experiences and feelings on paper when the story had taken total possession of me, and I couldn’t go one more day without telling it.
So I wrote about a princess named Joanna who went out to find a cure for her grandfather’s cancer.
From my beginnings, my writing has been a tool to explore what’s happening in my life and the world around me, although my stories aren’t technically autobiographical. I write about third-culture children, sports, my beloved city of Rosario, life in small-town Utah, spirituality, etc.
Writing has always been a part of my life, but I never thought I could one day be a writer. I left Argentina at age nineteen to attend Brigham Young University, where I majored in International Economy. But during those years, I learned Portuguese and eventually became a translator. I devoured books from the library. When my children were born, I savored the books I didn’t have in my childhood (like Where the Wild Things Are, Ferdinand, and Good Night Moon, among others).
When my own stories started taking full possession of me, and I couldn’t go another day without telling them, I started writing. After the birth of my fourth child, I decided that I wanted to share my writing with the world. I rolled up my literal sleeves and started my writing apprenticeship.
LKL: Before VCFA, what types of self-directed activities or writing classes did you utilize to develop your craft?
Yamile: NaNoWriMo was the catalyst that sent the proverbial writing stone rolling for me. I was very active in the blogging community, and on November 6th, 2007, I read a casual comment about a novel-writing challenge. I headed over to the NaNoWriMo website, signed up, and started writing a story that had been germinating in my mind for a while and I hadn’t even noticed. The euphoria of typing The End is addictive, and after the first time, I couldn’t stop.
I wrote every day and learned there was much more to writing than pouring words on the page. I found books on self-editing, story structure, character development, and eventually, the publishing industry. With the help of my critique group (the Sharks and Pebbles, whose name originated from this spoof), finished a manuscript and queried it without apparent success. Some agents who rejected my piece were very encouraging, and that was all I needed to stay motivated.
I attended my first writers conference, LDS Storymakers, which is the largest writing conference in Utah, and entered the first-chapter contest. My entry won the first place in the Young Adult category, which told me I was on the right track.
I also attended the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference and workshop, organized and directed by VCFA alumna and award-winning author Carol Lynch Williams, and my life changed forever. At WIFYR I workshopped with Ann Dee Ellis, Martine Leavitt, and Cynthia Leitich-Smith. After savoring this yearly feast on craft and art, I wanted more. I knew Martine and Cynthia taught at VCFA, and when my fifth child was one-year-old (and in my mind, capable of surviving without me during the ten-day residency periods), I applied to the program.
LKL: Please share about your experiences with your MFA, starting with the decision to apply. How did you choose VCFA? What are some of the factors you would recommend for other writers to consider?
Yamile: I had looked into VCFA for years, but my four children were very young, my husband had (and still has) a very demanding job, and I didn’t think I had the skills required for such an intensive program. I perused the website nightly, and when I turned to the Acknowledgements page of a favorite book and read the author’s dedication and/or gratitude to VCFA, and its faculty and student body, my desire to apply intensified.
One day I realized that time kept going, and that my children were growing up quickly. If I wanted to pursue advanced education, now was the time. Fortunately, my husband was very encouraging. After all, I had supported him when he pursued his MBA degree and as he advanced in his career. Armed with my family’s support, I applied. When the acceptance letter arrived, I was thrilled.
LKL: Take us into the world of an MFA student. What were some of the turning points or eureka moments for you as a writer?
Yamile: In my first semester, I learned to be a flexible writer. I’d already written two MG novels before VCFA, and I was determined to write YA during my two years as a student. With my first advisor, I wrote YA, but I also wrote poetry, picture books, early readers, and my favorite surprise: short stories. Exploring with the format allowed me to study plot and story structure. It taught me to make my words count. Two of my YA projects were born of short stories. The experience was illuminating in regards to my own writing process. Another thing I valued from the beginning was being open to critique, but also trusting my writerly instincts. In our graduation ceremony, VCFA Thomas Christopher Greene told us graduates that we had earned a Master’s degree over our own writing. To trust this authority. I remind myself of this lesson daily.
yamile-daughterLKL: During your enrollment, you were also busy with family life. Could you share some tips for getting the most from classwork while also meeting everyday demands?
Yamile: As I flew back home from my first residency, I considered the work load for each of the five packets ahead of me that semester (40 pages of creative writing, 2 critical essays, an annotated bibliography of ten to fifteen books, and a detailed letter to my advisor), and I was overwhelmed.
How in the world was I ever going to do it all?
I learned to prioritize. I put myself on a schedule that started much earlier than my children’s so I could have uninterrupted writing time. With my kids in school, I had almost three hours of sacred morning writing time (I still do most of my writing during the morning when the kids are at school). Still, my obligations didn’t fit into 24 hours.
I learned to say no. I didn’t volunteer at the kids’ schools as much (or at all during my third semester). I gave up TV.
I also had obligations to my agent, my freelance writing job, and my church. I reached a point in which I put my writing, my family, my obligations ahead of my health. I started learning (I’m still learning this) to maximize my time so I could sleep a full night. I learned simple recipes, and my children helped with household chores. When they saw my dedication to my school work, my family teamed up to help me meet my deadlines. We read my “homework” before bedtime. We listened to audiobooks in the car. The kids brought me books from their school libraries to help with essays or research. Again, I also learned how to be a flexible writer. I wrote or read during halftime at soccer matches or long dance competitions. I did “character studies” during carpool (15 year-old boys will say the funniest things when they believe the driver can’t hear them). I learned to let go of things I couldn’t control, like the sea of Legos in the playroom. These habits prepared me for the writing life after the MFA. Nowadays, although I don’t have an advisor waiting for my packet, I have an agent waiting for my revision. A VCFA friend and I became accountability partners. It helps to have someone cheering for me and celebrating accomplishments at the end of a busy week.
The MFA was a family affair, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of so many friends and family.
LKL: A few years ago, Junot Díaz wrote a stinging essay about the experiences of people of color at various MFA programs. On its website, VCFA makes a strong commitment to diversity. In your view, how well do they honor this promise?
fellowlatinas
Yamile with fellow Latinas at VCFA
Yamile: I’m embarrassed to confess I didn’t know Junot Díaz until my first semester advisor assigned me one of his short stories. The beauty, honesty, and clarity of Junot’s words stunned me. My perception of my world, my writing, my country, and myself changed dramatically. I measured all I learned against my new perception of what it means to be a POC in a graduate program.
At VCFA, the student body is still not diverse enough. The staggering price of tuition and room/board is a deterrent to many POC applicants. VCFA is trying to mitigate the financial burden by granting scholarships (The Angela Johnson Scholarship for New Students of Color or Ethnic Minority established by literary agent Barry Goldblatt).
As far as the faculty goes, VCFA boasts an incredible roll of award-winning stars with ties to diverse communities: Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Uma Krishnaswami, An Na, Will Alexander, Daniel José Older, Kekla Magoon, and Shelley Tanaka, among others.
The rest of the faculty is invested in diversity and the promotion of writers from marginalized communities. Workshops and lectures are sensitive to the importance of inclusion and supporting marginalized voices. Alumni POC are wonderful role models and mentors. In the admissions department, prospective, current, and past students have a super champion in Ann Cardinal, a self-declared Gringa-Rican.
To summarize my answer, yes, VCFA honors their commitment to diversity, and they continue to strive to better serve the interests of all students, especially writers of color.
LKL: What advice would you give to aspiring Latinx writers about considering a creative writing program or preparing to enroll in one?
Yamile: I’m a strong advocate for education. However, I’d advise people to consider the motivations for pursuing a MFA.
Is it to take a shortcut on publication or success?
Keep in mind that there aren’t any promises for either publication or success even for VCFA MFA holders.
Is it to teach?
An MFA will provide the writer with better opportunities to teach at a university level, since it’s a terminal degree.
Is it to improve their craft?
You could also acquire these tools on your own, or by attending conferences and workshops. But during a structured program, you will be committed to do your work every day, no matter what.
Is it for the community?
At VCFA, I made personal connections with fellow students, faculty, and alumni, some of whom graduated years before I even started. The VCFA family is a tight-knit group, and I’m honored to be part of it.
Also, consider your financial situation.
Lastly, look into your heart. I always wanted to be a writer, but I felt I needed to study something practical, and that’s how I ended up studying economics. My love for writing and reading never waned though, so when I had the chance, I chose VCFA. I wonder how my story would have been different if I’d gone with my heart years ago.
If a writing program is what you want to do, then go for it.
LKL: Now that you’re an MFA grad, what’s next? What are you working on?
Yamile: I finished VCFA with a portfolio of exciting material. I’m revising an MG story about a girl, the star of an all-boy fútbol team. When she gets her period and gets kicked off the team, she goes on to earn a spot in a girls’ team, and to fight for the National Championship. For my critical thesis, I wrote on the importance of portraying girls’ puberty in middle grade, and following on the heels of that, this story has been fun and empowering to write. Eleven-year-old me would have loved it.
I’m also working on a story I call it my gender-bender Hamilton meets Joan D’Arc–my love letter to refugees and immigrants everywhere.
Next spring, I’m teaching a diversity class at Storymakers, and I applied to Junot Díaz’s VONA workshop, because education never ends.
LKL: Finally, permit us to show off a little on your behalf. You had an amazing 2015: You were named a finalist in Lee and Low’s New Voices Award. You secured a literary agent. You enrolled at VCFA. At some point, We Need Diverse Books named you a recipient of its inaugural Walter Deans Myers Grant. Wow! What has the Walter Dean Myers grant meant to your writing career? Tell us how 2015 fits into the story of where you’ve come from—and where you see yourself going—as a writer.
Yamile: The validation I felt after winning the New Voices Honor, and being chosen as an inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient was the fuel I needed to keep me motivated and engaged in learning as much as I could at VCFA. To think that I taught myself how to read and write English with a bilingual dictionary! I’m inspired to keep working towards publication, to tell the stories that I wanted to read as a child and that also reflect the reality of a large portion of the population of our country. My dream is to visit schools to tell children like my own that their voices matter. I’m excited for the future generation and the stories they’ll produce.
Keep up with Yamile on her website, where she blogs about the writing life, or on Twitter: @yamilesmendez.
Latinx In Publishing
Female Empowerment, Fútbol, and Ripple Effects: Yamile Saied Méndez on her YA Debut, FURIA
December 23, 2020
Author Yamile Saied Méndez has scored a spectacular GOAL! with her energetic and dynamic young adult debut novel, Furia (Algonquin, 2020). Set in Argentina, this story is about a fierce, rising soccer star who must defy everything in her way—even her budding love story—to do what she believes is right. Furia’s distinctive protagonist, Camila Hassan, will take you on a nonstop, engrossing journey that will leave you wanting more, as she secretly applies to study abroad, gets her first job, and circumvents narrow and unhealthy parental expectations. Latinx in Publishing member Yvonne Tapia interviewed Méndez about the new book.
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YVONNE TAPIA: It’s great to get the chance to speak to you, Yamile! I was thrilled to have Furia join my library. I enjoyed reading it for so many reasons. Who/What inspired you to create Camila?
YAMILE SAIED MÉNDEZ: Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that. Overall, watching so many girls in real life helped inspire me to write Camila Hassan as she is. I currently live in Utah and it is a place with a lot of Latinx communities. I see that there are so many girls who are eager to take advantage of the opportunities available to them and [have a] hunger for success. You often hear about “the arrogance of youth” and yet it is up to us to help empower the life within them. One of the greatest ways to empower them is to transfer that hope into books.
What was the writing process like for Furia? What was it like for you to incorporate soccer with female empowerment?
The writing process for Furia was very long, it took me a long time to develop Camila’s character and I’m glad it did because as I developed her, I also needed time to mature as a writer. I love writing YA fiction because you get to nurture your main character into maturity. When I started writing Furia, I was complimented about its style, but was told that there wasn’t a company that would acquire a book about a girl who’s living in a country other than the United States and was passionate about soccer. However, I kept writing and while there were necessary pains to write it out, it has been very rewarding. I’m so happy to see that the book has resonated with people from all backgrounds.
We immediately read how harshly Camila’s family react to her dream of being a futbolista (female soccer player). Her father doesn’t believe fútbol is for women and even says he thinks she might be a lesbian, as if that’s a bad thing, because of her love for the sport. Her mother also doesn’t believe fútbol is something lady-like. What was behind your decision to have the story start out this way?
It all goes back to how I saw this topic arise time after time in my Latinx community [and to this day it still does]. Girls don’t get the support needed in sports. In my family, there wasn’t much support for girls who played soccer, and not because they were cruel people, as we sometimes saw in Furia, but because they were more willing to invest in something that would be, according to them, more beneficial to my career. Field hockey was more acceptable while soccer equated with masculinity. A young girl playing soccer is still considered a little bit taboo in some communities.
You’re absolutely right. While I was growing up, it was usually the boys who played soccer, and while girls played soccer as well, it wasn’t often when there would be an all-girls soccer match.
Exactly! I’ve had the chance to talk to U.S. national women’s soccer player Amy Rodriguez, and she’s the only Cuban-descendant woman on the team. In a recent study I read, it’s been reported that 50% of girls quit sports by the time they hit puberty. Girls still have an urgent need for access to mentors. This goes back to what I stated earlier about parents encouraging the extracurricular activities they think are best for their daughters. If my parents were going to pay for something extracurricular, they would rather pay for music or [secondary language] lessons rather than soccer. I hope this book will encourage girls that there are people out there willing to be their mentors and guide them in their dream career the best way possible, the same way Coach Alicia does everything she can to help Camila succeed.
Did you face toxic femininity while growing up? If so, how does it relate to Camila’s story?
Oh yes. One major point I wanted to make with Furia is when we, as women, may [often be] pitted against each other in a variety of ways, it doesn’t help any of us in the long run. We need to be there for each other and remain fully supportive. For example, in this story we have Camila’s mother, Isabel, who tells Camila not to eat too much or she will gain weight. This brings up the thought: how many times, in the name of love, will women tear each other down? These types of comments are not healthy and it’s an ongoing issue. Additionally, Camila herself is judgmental about women close to her, such as her mother and her brother’s girlfriend, Marisol. I decided to turn that around with soccer. Soccer is a team sport. You need 11 people on the pitch and they all depend on one another. Without her all-female team, Camila wouldn’t have had a chance to play in the big leagues. Camila had a strong role model in her coach. It was important to me for Camila to not forget the power and beauty of working together.
Among the most intense scenes was the domestic violence – physical and verbal – that perpetuated from Camila’s father to his entire family, and influenced how Camila’s mother and her brother, Pablo, treated her. Could you tell us more about that, and what you wanted readers to take from seeing Camila’s harmful environment?
While it is a tough situation, I wanted to point out that it takes courage to speak up and sometimes it is a team effort that can help put an end to a harmful pattern of abuse. Ultimately, Camila, along with her brother and mother, [have to] stand up together to put an end to it. I want readers to know that they are never alone. While it can be hard to ask for help, know that there are people willing to assist you and never feel ashamed to talk about it if you’re going through a situation like that.
When educators/librarians discuss the domestic violence themes with young readers, whether it’s during an English class or a book club, how would you like for them to go about it?
I want them to treat it with respect. I believe that we all engage in some form of toxic behavior at least once in our lives. Misogynistic messages [and actions] change all the time and nobody is exempt from this. It’s important to recognize when we mess up and learn from these mistakes. It’s essential to have these types of scenarios discussed in classrooms and libraries so young readers are aware about them as early as possible.
[SPOILER ALERT] You really highlight how different fútbol is for young boys and girls in Latinx communities, particularly in Argentina for this book. Diego, Camila’s love interest, has become an international fútbol celebrity. Amid the most significant scenes is when Camila tells Diego that she will not accompany him on the rest of his soccer tournaments, because she is going to follow her own dreams. How did this scene come about? Did you always know it would turn out this way for them?
Absolutely, I always knew. Diego is the biggest foil of the story because his romance with Camila didn’t happen at the right time. While it’s mentioned that he has sacrificed things to get to where he is today, he still doesn’t understand that Camila’s path is even harder. If Camila had decided to go with Diego, their relationship wouldn’t have worked out. Camila Hassan broke the family tradition that’s been going on for generations – Camila chose herself. Now, that didn’t mean she doesn’t love Diego, because she does. She had to learn to avoid putting herself in the same position other women in her family have put themselves in – choosing love over their own professional growth first.
Financial [independence] is so important. It’s unfortunate that some people, like Camila’s mother, have a harder time having financial freedom and tend to stay with their partner out of necessity to survive, even if their relationship has turned into something harmful. There are so many resources out there for young people to learn about and apply to, because it is always possible to prosper. For a relationship to succeed, I strongly believe both people have to be satisfied with what they have professionally.
Young people are usually bombarded with media that have them thinking they have to find the love of their life at a very young age, particularly in their teen years. There needs to be more representation of young people flourishing professionally first.
Oh yes, I remember how past soap operas tended to show lower-class protagonists “getting out” by marrying a rich guy. Sometimes it would be the other way around, where a poor guy married a rich woman.
Precisely! We need to continue striving away from that.
That relates to our next question: Camila becomes aware of the example she’s setting for Karen, a young girl who looks up to her, when Karen asks her if she will move overseas with Diego. Would you say that her relationship with Karen influences Camila in her determination to pursue her soccer goals?
I really enjoyed writing Karen’s character. Even though Camila didn’t want to be a role model, she is! As Camila notices how much Karen looks up to her, she realizes that she doesn’t want to give the impression that success is all about being with the love of your life. I also wrote Marisol, Pablo’s girlfriend, as the opposite of Camila on purpose. Marisol is the alternate universe version of Camila. Readers may remember how judgmental Camila is of her. But once Camila analyzes her own actions, she stops being so judgmental towards Marisol. . . . I would love to write about Karen and Marisol as the protagonists of their own stories.
As an author and mother, what message do you hope parent figures will take from reading Furia?
I hope parent figures will realize that young people have dreams that are so big, [and] the best we can do is to encourage and support them. This story is not only for girls and women, it is also for boys and men. I would like for boys and men to read Furia and see how strong and powerful women are.
What advice would you give to young readers who are currently – like Camila – studying abroad? What do you wish all young readers to take from Camila’s story?
To never forget where they come from. In Camila’s case, while my country is currently going through a horrible financial situation, it’s okay for Camila to take a break and enjoy herself. I wish for young readers in a similar situation to enjoy the dream because they fought hard for it. Also, remember to help others and be grateful for what you have so far.
Always be authentic and true to yourself, and do what you think is right. I wish for young readers to remember that we are part of a link of people before us, and what will come after is up to us. Camila realizes that her mother did the best she could with the tools she was given. Thus, Camila stops being so judgmental of her mother and finds a way to help her. The decisions we make when we’re young are important, but that doesn’t mean that [you have to be shackled by them] going forward. Also, remember that everything we do ripples.
Can we expect to read more about Camila in the future?
I would love to continue writing about Camila in the future. I’m always brainstorming what Camila would do in certain situations that are presently happening in the world. I’m currently working on my second YA novel set in Argentina – that is all I can say for now on that matter!
And finally, I found myself jamming to Furia’s rock-on playlist! Was it your idea to create a playlist for Camila Hassan?
It was actually Algonquin who asked me for a playlist. I created two, actually – one that inspired me to write the book and another one that Camila would listen to before a game! If readers would like to know Diego’s personality better in a song, listen to “Notte di febbraio – Nek” [laughs].
Haha, thanks for sharing! It’d be interesting to hear whether readers’ perspective on Diego changes, once they’ve listened to it!
For readers, here are the Furia Playlists:
Author Picks Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6R0PBTZZlHOWT22FeOKg4u
Camila Hassan Pregame Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/18BqMFVQaIrUkYagGZ0lRE
Happy reading/listening!
AuthorYamileSaiedMe%CC%81ndez.jpg
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine-American who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children’s and Young Adult program. She’s a PB, MG, and YA author. Yamile is also part of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx MG and YA authors. She’s represented by Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary.
For more updates on her latest works, follow Yamile Saied Méndez on:
Twitter: @YamileSMendez
Instagram: @YamileSMendez
Website: https://yamilesmendez.com/books
Méndez, Yamile Saied WISH UPON A STRAY Scholastic Paperbacks (Children's None) $7.99 8, 3 ISBN: 978-1-338-68466-7
A 12-year-old girl struggles after a move across continents.
María Emilia, who goes by the pet name Mimilia, is a Miami-born Argentine girl who is excited about finishing seventh grade and singing a solo in her school choir at graduation. But her plans to celebrate before entering Argentine high school in eighth grade are derailed when her mother gets a job teaching Latin American history at a college in Utah. Leaving her hometown of Mendoza with her parents and two younger brothers also means leaving her grandma Lela behind—and her aging cat, Estrellita. As a parting gift, Lela gives Mimilia a binder full of letters from her great-grandmother Nonna Celestina, written after she emigrated from Italy to Argentina at age 12. But even with this sage epistolary guidance, Mimilia is having a hard time finding her voice in her new home. She feels like a foreigner in the country where she was born and grapples with new foods, feeling self-conscious about her accent, making new friends, and having to repeat seventh grade. Her only consolation is a stray dog who shows up, reminding her of her beloved cat—and who ultimately helps make Utah feel more like home. Méndez presents an entertaining and endearing tale of resilience in the face of change and loss as well as the opportunities that can come when challenges are met.
A sweet tale of dealing with estrangement and finding belonging. (Fiction. 8-12)
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"Mendez, Yamile Saied: WISH UPON A STRAY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667042057/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=59421cfc. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Mendez, Yamile Saied SHAKING UP THE HOUSE HarperCollins (Children's None) $16.99 1, 5 ISBN: 978-0-06-297072-5
Two sets of sisters battle to be the best pranksters.
The Lopez sisters, 12-year-old Winnie and 11-year-old Ingrid, have lived in the White House for the past eight years. As daughters of the first Latinx president, they’ve carried the burden of being perfect role models as well as they could despite Winnie’s impulsivity and Ingrid’s joker side. However, with only seven weeks left in their father’s presidency and the new first family staying as guests at the White House, the Lopez sisters wholly embrace the tradition of pranking the incoming administration. With 12-year-old identical twins Zora and Skylar Williams moving in as the daughters of the first Black woman president, there are plenty of opportunities to perform elaborate jokes. The Williams twins retaliate with gusto, and soon the pranks escalate, causing trouble in the White House, endangering historical artifacts and First Ferret Lafayette, and leaving Secret Service agents scrambling to do their jobs. The girls must learn to restrain themselves before they do irreparable damage to their families’ images and their parents’ legacies. The story is told through chapters alternating among the four girls’ perspectives, giving a glimpse into their struggles to express their personal identities and the added pressures of being children of color in the public sphere. Readers who enjoy mischief will find this an amusing and instructive read in the art of pranking.
Delightfully silly and enjoyable. (Fiction. 8-12)
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"Mendez, Yamile Saied: SHAKING UP THE HOUSE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638165951/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=18a93932. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Furia
Yamile Saied Mendez
Algonqin Young Readers
c/o Algonquin Books
PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2225
www.algonquin.com
www.blackstoneaudio.com
9781616209919, $17.95, HC, 368pp
https://www.amazon.com/Furia-Yamile-Saied-M%C3%A9ndez/dp/1616209917
Synopsis: In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother's narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother's shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.
On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she'd get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.
But the path ahead isn't easy. Her parents don't know about her passion. They wouldn't allow a girl to play futbol--and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn't have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren't the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied.
As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her. Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaring romance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl's journey to make her life her own.
Critique: An inherently engaging and impressively well crafted novel for young readers ages 14-18, "Furia" by Yamile Saied Mendez will prove to be an extraordinary and enduringly popular addition to middle school, high school, and community library YA Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Furia" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.61) and in a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781664566699, $34.99, CD).
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Midwest Book Review
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Mendez, Yamile Saied. "Furia." Children's Bookwatch, Nov. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A645279987/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7f1cb64a. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Mendez, Yamile Saied FURIA Algonquin (Teen None) $17.95 9, 29 ISBN: 978-1-61620-991-9
An Argentine girl’s journey to fulfill her ambitions against all odds.
Seventeen-year-old Camila “la Furia” Hassan is a talented soccer player from a traditional working-class family in Rosario, Argentina, who aspires to be a professional futbolera. Her life as a player is a secret she keeps from her parents, especially from her abusive father, but her support system includes her brother, Pablo, a professional soccer player himself, and her best friend and teammate, Roxana. After her team wins the local league and qualifies for a South American tournament, Camila finally has a chance to show her talent to scouts and hopefully fulfill her dream to join a North American team. Camila needs parental permission to join the tournament, but coming clean is hard—and then things get worse when the boy she loves is back in town. Diego left to play for Juventus FC in Italy and has come to win her back, but Camila is torn between her two loves. In this stirring novel by Argentine American author Mendez, passion for sports and personal growth intersect in Camila’s powerful, feminist first-person narrative about her experiences as an ambitious athlete, a teenager deeply in love, the daughter of an abusive father at the point of taking charge of her own life, and a young woman finding her voice in a deeply sexist, patriarchal society. Camila’s Argentine family is multicultural with Black, Indigenous, European, and Palestinian ancestors. Roxana is Chinese Argentine.
A riveting coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 14-adult)
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"Mendez, Yamile Saied: FURIA." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A630892301/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d8209d83. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Shaking Up the House. 256p. HarperCollins/Harper. Jan. 2021. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780062970725.
Gr 3-6--The latest arrival in the emerging genre of "presidential family" fiction. With young and new adult titles such as Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue and Shaun David Hutchison's The State of Us flying off the shelves, it is no surprise to see 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as the backdrop for this middle grade title. Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have spent the last eight years at the White House as the country's first daughters. It is now time for them to turn the keys over to Skylar and Zora. However, preparations for the incoming family are delayed, and the four girls will have to stay under the same roof for several weeks. True to the White House's tradition of playing pranks on the incoming family, Ingrid and Winnie engage in an ongoing series of harmless gags with their successors. Events take an unfortunate turn when the pet ferret goes missing, and the girls' practical jokes interfere with official presidential business. Mendez has created a funny and diverse cast of characters subverting the representation usually seen in the White House. Ingrid and Winnie are Latina, and Skylar and Zora are African American. They openly talk about their experiences with racism and the pressure they feel to be on their best behavior. While their pranks began as innocent fun, they culminate in a touching friendship and show of solidarity. VERDICT An entertaining read, and a clever reimagining of First Daughter tropes, showing that anyone can be in the White House and have fun doing so.--Katherine Hickey, Metropolitan Lib. Syst., Oklahoma City
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Hickey, Katherine. "MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Shaking Up the House." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 12, Dec. 2020, p. 92. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A643822095/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aacd1ccc. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. On These Magic Shores. 288p. Lee & LowTTu Bks. Apr. 2020. Tr $19.95. ISBN 9781643790312.
Gr 4-7--Twelve-year-old Minerva Soledad Miranda is no stranger to shouldering more than her fair share of responsibilities. While Mama works hard at two jobs, Minerva helps out at home with her two younger sisters, Kota and Avi. When Mama doesn't come back from work one night, but glitter is left behind on the girls' bed and pink cupcakes are found on the windowsill, Minerva doesn't know what to think. Her sisters believe in Peques, fairies that are part of Argentinian folklore. Assuming that Mama will return soon, Minerva attempts to keep things as normal as possible--she worries her immigrant family may face deportation or foster care if they're found out. Try as she may, caring for herself and her two sisters proves nearly impossible, and as Minerva drags her sister to her audition and tries out for the part of Wendy in Peter Pan, she is cast in the culturally insensitive role of Tiger Lily. Feeling like she is fighting a losing battle but unsure whom she can trust with her secrets and worries, Minerva has to look within herself and to her new friend, Maverick, before the family is broken apart. When Mama does return, it looks like even fairy magic isn't enough to save her from a mysterious illness, and Minerva is faced with more difficult decisions regarding her extended family, her heritage, and her culture. VERDICT Mendez manages to successfully weave multiple story lines and characters throughout the novel, and each is satisfactorily resolved at the end. Miranda's predicament will reach many readers grappling with similar insecurities or uncertainties in this timely, emotionally charged story.--Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA
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Shaw, Michele. "MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. On These Magic Shores." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 3, Mar. 2020, p. 106. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616314235/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4c16bfe4. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Where Are You From? illus. by Jaime Kim. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. Jun. 2019. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062839930. POP
PreS-Gr 2--In a world full of micro-aggressions, Argentine-American author Mendez and South Korean-American illustrator Kim team up to offer an affirming answer for a young brown-skinned girl constantly being asked "Where are you from?" After her reply, "I'm from here, from today, same as everyone else," is contested with a "No, where are you really from?," she takes her internalized confusion to her abuelo, because "he knows everything, and like me, he looks like he doesn't belong." He tells her that she comes from the pampas, the gaucho, mountains, blue oceans, hurricanes, and dark storms. He doesn't shy away from hard truths and tells her that she comes from "this land where our ancestors built a home for all, even when they were in chains because of the color of their skin." Each answer takes them into sweeping double-page landscapes of watercolor and ink that add enough context to understand new vocabulary and texture to fill each space. But when she insists where am I really from, he points to his heart and says, "from my love and the love of all of those before us." A great read-aloud with simple yet evocative language, this picture book will validate many young children's experience, and for others will lend itself well to starting conversations around race and racial aggressions. VERDICT A much-needed title that is a first purchase for libraries and classrooms.--Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR
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Jones, Danielle. "MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. Where Are You From?" School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 6, June 2019, pp. 65+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A587876134/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=841be093. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. What Will You Be? illus. by Kate Alizadeh. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. May 2021. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062839954.
PreS-K--All the other children, one tan with a mop of black hair, another Black with natural hair, and a third, white with orange hair, nag the heroine to say what she will be when she grows up. "Clown" and "unicorn" as choices do not satisfy them, so she, with fight brown skin and two skinny black braids, goes to her abuela in the art studio where bright paints and pots are fined up. Abuela wisely provides the answer: "Listen." The child listens to her heart and then paints the loftiest of dreams, from building a home that welcomes everyone to walking the roads her ancestors built, from healing bones to mending hearts. The dimension and scale of the answers grow interplanetary, and her abuela reminds her that if she needs help, many hands can accomplish what one person cannot. This is a prayer to personal power, a license to dream big, and permission to keep moving forward, beyond proscribed or limiting roles. In the end, the child and abuela leave the art studio, having finished a giant mural on which some of these plans have been painted. The illustrator's friendly scenes of zeal and cooperation will inspire others to aim high, and the message of the book is delivered lightly, but well. VERDICT Turning a common question of childhood into a substantive quest, this imaginative set of plans will have other children charting their own course through the stars.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal
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Fakih, Kimberly Olson. "MENDEZ, Yamile Saied. What Will You Be?" School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 5, May 2021, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A661255210/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=abcb7460. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Mendez, Yamile Saied WHERE ARE YOU FROM? Harper/HarperCollins (Children's Fiction) $17.99 6, 4 ISBN: 978-0-06-283993-0
After being repeatedly asked variations on "Where are you from?" the narrator finds out that "I'm from here, from today, same as everyone else," is not an answer that will satisfy those asking. They want to know "where are you really from."
The child, who has light-brown skin and hair worn in two afro-puffs, turns to Abuelo for help. He in turn "looks inside his heart for an answer." Lyrical language and luminous illustrations convey his thoughtful response. "You're from the gaucho, brave and strong.…But you're also from the warm, blue oceans the copper warriors tried to tame…where our ancestors built a home for all, even when they were in chains because of the color of their skin." By pointing out the child's Argentinean and Puerto Rican cultural heritage as well as mixed racial makeup, Abuelo's answer addresses the multilayered and varied possibilities of a Latinx identity. Ultimately, Abuelo points out, the questioning child comes from his love and that of all those who came before. The question of where someone is "really" from, in the United States, is too often understood as meaning: You look different; you must be from somewhere else. In this case, the illustrations portray a very diverse group of children and adults posing that very question, demonstrating the particular frustrations often experienced by people of mixed race.
An ideal vehicle for readers to ponder and discuss their own identities. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Mendez, Yamile Saied: WHERE ARE YOU FROM?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582143975/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=10c14fb6. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Mendez, Yamile Saied ON THESE MAGIC SHORES Tu Books (Children's Fiction) $19.95 4, 21 ISBN: 978-1-64379-031-2
When Mama fails to return home after her evening job, it is up to 12-year-old Minerva Soledad Miranda to take care of her younger sisters and hold the family together.
The family lives in a moldy basement apartment, and Mama works two jobs and dresses the girls in hand-me-downs. In spite of the obstacles, Minerva has her life all figured out. The Argentine American seventh grader will be "the first Latina president of the United States." And the first step to that goal is to get the lead role in Peter Pan, the school play. But nothing is working out. First, and most importantly, Mama has gone missing. Then, brown-skinned Minerva gets the role of Tiger Lily, a character with only one line--"how"--and one that Minerva finds offensive to Native Americans, prompting her to take action. As the book progresses, Mendez tackles problems of racism, discrimination, income inequality, immigration, and ethnic and cultural stereotypes. All are real, true, and valid points, but they are laid out with such a heavy hand as to grow preachy, causing the book's balance to tip from story to lesson. Mama's absence works well as a device to allow Minerva to come to the fore, but her reappearance and the explanation for her disappearance feel contrived. Nevertheless, there is still much to like, and readers will find a strong and resilient character they can root for in this story.
A redoubtable protagonist in a good storyline that doesn't quite deliver. (Fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Mendez, Yamile Saied: ON THESE MAGIC SHORES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613750908/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=59859aa7. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
What Will You Be? By Yamile Saied Mendez. Illus. by Kate Alizadeh. May 2021. 40p. Harper, $17.99 (9780062839954). K-Gr. 3.
When a brown-skinned young girl's friends ask what she'll be when she grows up, her responses are fanciful: astronaut, unicorn, and clown, and her friends reply, "What will you really be?" For guidance, she looks to her abuela, who encourages her to listen to her heart. The subsequent pages reveal her growing, grounded inspiration in warm, evocatively illustrated spreads. Looking at nearby homes, she considers being a builder; a fruit tree brings thoughts of being a farmer, "planting wonder and change." Maybe she'll teach, or she'll create art, like Abuela. However, one thing's certain: "When I grow up ... I will be me." Vibrant, charming artwork interweaves imaginative scenes with realistic scenarios, and throughout, bright strokes of color swirl across the scenes as the possibilities occur to her. While the girl's lyrical narrative can read as older ("I will be an explorer of the lands where my roots were born"), this is nevertheless a thought-provoking and reassuring take on the "what will I be when I grow up genre of picture book, with lots of read-aloud appeal.--Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
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Rosenfeld, Shelle. "What Will You Be?" Booklist, vol. 117, no. 17, 1 May 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662304661/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2e638aea. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.