62. When We Make It A Nuyorican Novel Elisabet Velasquez

It's 1996. 13 year-old Sarai is a first generation Puerto Rican who's trying to grow up with her Mami and older sister in Bushwick, a borough in Brooklyn, New York, a  neighborhood riddled with drugs and crime. Sarai grapples with her Puerto Rican identity, hunger, poverty, frequent moves and looming neighborhood gentrification. Yet, Sarai is curious and questions the here and now and her future. Situations that seem insurmountable are juxtaposed with Sarai’s curiosity, resiliency, and hopeful spirit. Transcript here