When We Make It - by Elisabet Velasquez

About the Book

Sarai uses verse to navigate the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn, questioning the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives.

Book Synopsis

"The energy. The clarity. The beauty. Elisabet Velasquez brings it all. . . . Her voice is FIRE!"--NYT bestselling and award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson

An unforgettable, torrential, and hopeful debut young adult novel-in-verse that redefines what it means to "make it," for readers of Nicholasa Mohr and Elizabeth Acevedo.

Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican question asker who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister, Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has long been denied.

When We Make It is a love letter to anyone who was taught to believe that they would not make it. To those who feel their emotions before they can name them. To those who still may not have all the language but they have their story. Velasquez' debut novel is sure to leave an indelible mark on all who read it.

Review Quotes

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
Indies Introduce and Next List selection
Kirkus Reviews Best Books
School Library Journal Best Books
Chicago Public Library Best Teen Fiction
Américas Award Commended Title
ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project selection
In the Margins Book Award Top Ten selection
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books
The News & Observer Best Books for Kids
Gotham Book Prize finalist

*"A gem for pleasure reading as well as classroom use. . . . Raw, breathtaking, and brilliant."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Exquisite poetry portrays not only anger and fear, but also hope . . . Gripping and soulful, this dynamic debut novel-in-verse is a must for every collection."--School Library Journal, starred review

*"The candid, clear-eyed poetry contains powerful inquiries about [Sarai's] diasporic Nuyorican identity and canny observations about the endemic social and racial inequities that surround her. . . . Together, these vignettes capture Sarai's multilayered, heartbreaking, and hopeful coming of age."--Horn Book, starred review

"A beautiful story whose deep messages will have lasting effects."--Booklist

"With verses that are unapologetically fierce and honest, Elisabet Velasquez captures the Brooklyn city streets with a Nuyorican vibe that can't be duplicated. When We Make it is the perfect coming-of-age tale with rhythmic poetry that is certain to cement Velazquez as an exciting new young adult voice to celebrate."--Lilliam Rivera, Pura Belpré Honor-Winning Author of Never Look Back

"The energy. The clarity. The beauty. Elisabet Velasquez brings it all. And takes me home -- to Bushwick in the most resonate and evocative of ways. The writing is clear-eyed, moving and funny. Her voice is FIRE!"--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson

"This is the kind of book that makes you feel seen, the kind you read around the kitchen table to your sisters and friends. It will make you laugh and cry and remind you that you aren't alone. Elisabet's book will touch so many people's lives. It has already touched mine."--Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana

"Velasquez renders the heart in conflict with itself, the swag and bilingual sonic charge of Bushwick, an uncompromising love, and the reality of being a young Puerto Rican woman, using poetry to make sense of conflict and chaos in her relentless search for truth. When We Make It is an unforgettable debut."--Willie Perdomo, author of The Crazy Bunch

About the Author

Elisabet Velasquez is a Boricua writer born in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Her work is featured in Muzzle Magazine, Winter Tangerine, Centro Voces, Latina Magazine, Longreads, We Are Mitú, Tidal, and Martín Espada's anthology What Saves Us: Poems of Empathy and Outrage in the Age of Trump. When We Make It is her debut novel. Elisabet lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.