Shut Up, This Is Serious

WINNER OF THE PURA BELPRÉ YA AUTHOR AWARD

* A Morris Award Finalist * Parade Best Young Adult Books of All Time * Indie Next List Pick *

An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Erika L. Sánchez.

Belén Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have a boyfriend or at least just lose her virginity. But nothing is normal in East Oakland. Her father left her family. She's at risk of not graduating. And Leti, her super-Catholic, nerdy-ass best friend, is pregnant--by the boyfriend she hasn't told her parents about, because he's Black, and her parents are racist.

Things are hella complicated.

Weighed by a depression she can't seem to shake, Belén helps Leti, hangs out with an older guy, and cuts a lot of class. She soon realizes, though, that distractions are only temporary. Leti is becoming a mother. Classmates are getting ready for college. But what about Belén? What future is there for girls like her?

From debut author Carolina Ixta comes a fierce, intimate examination of friendship, chosen family, and the generational cycles we must break to become our truest selves.

Author: Carolina Ixta
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Published: 01/09/2024
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.90w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780063287860

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.2
Point Value: 13
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 522664 / Shut Up, This Is Serious

Award: Pura Belpre Award - Winner
Award: William C. Morris YA Debut Award - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/23/2023
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2023
Booklist 12/01/2023 pg. 123
School Library Journal 01/01/2024 pg. 62
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2024
BookPage 01/01/2024
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2024 pg. 93
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2024 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Ixta, Carolina: -

Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her BA in creative writing and Spanish language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and obtained her master's degree in education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, was a Morris Award finalist, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the Pura Belpré Award. Few Blue Skies is her sophomore novel.