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“Uncovered family secrets and a growing feminist consciousness propel a seventh grader to cause good trouble and start a school-wide revolution. Twelve-year-old Manuela “Mani” Semilla, whose parents are Chinese-Filipino American and Guatemalan, feels stuck in the liminal space between childhood and adulthood. …The discovery of old letters reveals a family history of feminist activism by women fighting against femicide in Guatemala. Tired of being silent and sick of double standards, Mani and her best friends, Las Nerdas, take action and speak up, demanding the right to feel safe. .. With strong writing, frank conversations about periods, anatomy, and bodily autonomy, plus dynamic characters, this solidly upper middle grade/lower YA story will empower readers, affirm their own middle school experiences, and show that people should be held accountable for the many daily offenses girls and women are subjected to.”

– School Library Journal, Starred Review

Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice

Written by Anna Lapera
Published by Levine Querido

Life sucks when you’re twelve. You’re not a little kid, but you’re also not an adult, and all the grown-ups in your life talk about your body the minute it starts getting a shape. And what sucks even more than being a Chinese-Filipino-American-Guatemalan who can’t speak any ancestral language well? When almost every other girl in school has already gotten her period except for you and your two besties.

Manuela “Mani” Semilla wants two things: To get her period, and to thwart her mom’s plan of taking her to Guatemala on her thirteenth birthday. If her mom’s always going on about how dangerous it is in Guatemala, and how much she sacrificed to come to this country, then why should Mani even want to visit?

But one day, up in the attic, she finds secret letters between her mom and her Tía Beatriz, who, according to family lore, died in a bus crash before Mani was born. But the letters reveal a different story. Why did her family really leave Guatemala? What will Mani learn about herself along the way? And how can the letters help her to stand up against the culture of harassment at her own school?

También disponible en Español, Mani Semilla Encuentra su Voz de Quetzal.

Primary ISBN: 9781646143719
Publication Date: March 2024
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 10 or older

Community Represented: , ,

Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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Source: Levine Querido