Alondra

by Gina Femia, Aida Reluzco (Read by)

Overview

In this contemporary YA coming-of-age novel from award-winning playwright Gina Femia, Alondra is a bisexual teen girl. She and her friends are wrestling their way through the summer—sometimes on the playgrounds of Coney Island, sometimes with their feelings and at home.

Sixteen-year-old Alonda loves professional wrestling. So when she meets a group of teens with aspirations of wrestling fame in her Coney Island neighborhood, she couldn’t be happier. So as the ragtag team works to put on a show to remember, Alonda leaves behind her old self and becomes Alondra―the Fearless One.

But with her conflicting feelings for King, the handsome leader of their group, and Lexi, the girl with the beautiful smile, Alonda has to ask herself: can she be as fearless outside of the ring as she is inside of it?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212388627
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Gina Femia is an award-winning playwright and performer who has written more than thirty plays that have been produced all over the United States. Gina writes narratives that explore the spectrum of queerness, particularly ones that embrace joy. Gina grew up in Brooklyn and still lives there with Freddy, the best husband. Alondra is the first novel Gina has written.

Editorial Reviews

02/06/2023

Dramatist Femia transforms her award-winning play ALLOND(R)A into a character-driven debut novel about an introverted, bisexual teen learning to leave her comfort zone. The most interesting thing that Puerto Rican 17-year-old Alonda Rivera has planned for the summer is watching a group of teenagers practice wrestling in the playground outside her Coney Island apartment building. Upon gathering enough courage to talk to the teens, she falls in love with amateur wrestling, which grants her a fearlessness in the ring that encourages her to deviate from her routine. She also begins a relationship with charismatic King, who is Black and the group’s de facto leader. Even as their relationship progresses, however, Alonda experiences increasingly frequent romantic feelings toward girls. When she starts developing an attraction to another group member, Black artist Lexi, Alonda aims to apply her newfound bravery to sorting out matters of the heart. A slight plot and uneven pacing leads to lowered stakes and urgency, but Alonda’s determination to explore a bold new side of herself, and her gradual self-acceptance of her bisexuality, are immediately endearing, amounting to a sweetly introspective read. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

SCBWI Golden Kite Award Finalist

"There’s much to praise in this fast-paced and engaging debut, from the sense of found family that is part of Alonda’s life in multiple ways to the commentary on the impact of gentrification...A satisfying and joyful read." —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

From the Publisher

10/20/2023

Gr 7 Up—Alondra lives with her guardian Teresa after her mother's death. Making healthy relationships is a struggle for the Latinx and bisexual teen, but channeling her mother's advice, Alondra breaks out of her introverted bubble and introduces herself to her neighbors. And thus begins a summer adventure in which four kids from the Coney Island—area set out to wrestle. Femia captures the linguistics of time and place, so the characters use contemporary vernacular. Things in this young adult world are "sick," "dope," "mad hot," and "like, whatever." Some of the dialogue between characters appears in the form of text chats, adding to the book's authenticity. Coney Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Nathan's hot dogs, public transportation, and visiting homes via fire escapes make New York City come to life in these pages. The ever-present heat of the city is also frequently referenced. Though Alondra learns to navigate a summer romance, the sports narrative is what primarily moves the plot forward. The novel also briefly touches on the intersections of gentrification, queer pride, financial struggles, and family relationships. VERDICT Purchase where books that center sports as the vehicle for life lessons are popular, such as Yamile Saied Méndez's Furia and Racquel Marie's You Don't Have a Shot. Teens will pick this up for the wrestling and stick around for the coming of age.—Stephanie Creamer

School Library Journal

★ 2023-01-25
Against the backdrop of a Coney Island summer, a 17-year-old Puerto Rican teenager tries to find her place in the world.

Alonda Rivera thought she had her summer figured out: She’d get a job, like usual, and beg her guardian, Teresa, to get air conditioning (again). But everything changes when she looks out her apartment window and sees four neighborhood teens wrestling on the playground. Watching wrestling is Alonda’s absolute favorite thing, and she decides she’s going to join them. King, Spider, Pretzel, and Lexi (the only girl in the multiracial group) don’t put up much resistance to including her. Instead, the obstacles are overprotective Teresa and Alonda’s own undecided heart. Italian American Teresa was Alonda’s mother’s best friend until Mami died a decade ago. As for her heart, things are a little complicated: Although she’s romantically interested in King, talking to Lexi lights something up inside her. As she tries to navigate Teresa’s rules and her feelings for these new friends, Alonda, who adopts the alter ego Alondra, must learn to be fearless, just like Mami before her. There’s much to praise in this fast-paced and engaging debut, from the sense of found family that is part of Alonda’s life in multiple ways to the commentary on the impact of gentrification.

A satisfying and joyful read. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews