The Story of My Anger - by Jasminne Mendez (Hardcover)

About the Book

Yulieta Lopez, a Dominican Texas teen tired of racism and censorship, starts a guerrilla theatre club with her friends as she finds her voice and the courage to stand up for what she believes in.

Book Synopsis

The Pura Belpré Honor Award winning author of Aniana del Mar Jumps In makes her YA debut with a powerful novel-in-verse about a Texas teen who is battling racism in her theatre program and book banning efforts by her town's school board.

Yulieta Lopez is angry. Angry at her racist drama teacher who refuses to cast Black students in lead roles. Angry at the school board threatening her favorite teacher for teaching works of literature that they deem "controversial." Angry that she has to keep quiet until she can head to college and leave Texas forever.

Yuli is accustomed to playing various roles: the diligent daughter, the honorable hija, the good girl who serves everyone else before serving herself. But as the fire of Yuli's rage spreads and lights her up, she can no longer be silent. Determined to find a way to fight back, Yuli and her friends start a guerilla theatre club which stirs things up and gets people talking, and finally, Yuli steps into the role she was always meant to play.

Review Quotes

★ "A powerful love letter to finding and using your voice, this story will resonate deeply with those who struggle to feel seen and nurtured, particularly young women of color... A compelling drama with a firecracker protagonist that stuns with its strikingly beautiful writing." --Kirkus, starred review

"This poignant novel...marries verse poems with playwriting in a narrative that centers timely questions about banned books and free speech. Passionate text that braids together Spanish and English deftly depicts Yuli's journey from an aspiring actor in the wings of the real world to the fearless "leading lady" of her own life." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Jasminne Mendez is Pura Belpré Honor Award recipient and a Dominican-American poet, playwright and author of several books for children and adults. She is also a poet, playwright, translator, and professional audiobook narrator. Her most recent publication Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Dial), a novel in verse about a young girl diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and others. Her YA memoir, Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American (Arte Público Press) and her debut poetry collection, City Without Altar (Noemi Press), were recently recognized with honors and awards by the Texas Institute of Letters and her debut picture book Josefina's Habichuelas (Arte Público Press) was the 2022 Writer's League of Texas Children's Book Discovery Prize Winner. She has translated Amanda Gorman's best-selling picture books Change Sings (La canción del cambio) and Something, Someday (Algo, algún día), the best selling picture book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water (El proyecto 1619: Nacieron sobre el agua) by Nikole Hannah Jones and Reneé Watson and the Pura Belpré Award Winning graphic novel Frizzy (Rizos) by Claribel Ortega.