Just Say Yes

by Goldy Moldavsky

Overview

From the New York Times–bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky comes a charming rom-com about your average high school senior in search of . . . a husband?

Seventeen-year-old Jimena Ramos is your typical teenage New Yorker—dazzling, fearless, and determined. When she discovers she's been living her life undocumented, she decides there's only one way to keep it on track: marry an American.

Maybe Jimena can find a husband on a dating app?
Maybe she should try approaching this marriage thing like a business deal?
Or maybe her new starry-eyed activist friend can help . . .

Meanwhile, the only person she can trust with her secret is Vitaly, her overachieving and adorkable next-door neighbor and friend. Vitaly makes it clear he's not a candidate for a green card marriage though. He has his own plans for the future and won't let anything derail them. But as Jimena and Vitaly confide in each other, sparks fly, and their feelings for each other become undeniable.

Jimena faces an impossible choice–continue to pursue a secure future in the only home she's ever known, or risk it all for real love?

Filled with humor, electric chemistry, and high stakes, this is perfect for fans of The Proposal and The Sun is Also a Star.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250863232
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	128,956
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Goldy Moldavsky was born in Lima, Peru, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her family. She is the New York Times–bestselling author of Kill the Boy Band, No Good Deed, The Mary Shelley Club, and Lord of the Fly Fest. Some of her influences include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the esteemed works of John Irving, and the Mexican telenovelas she grew up watching with her mother.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Here is a novel that brightly celebrates resilience, determination, and the universal desire for a place to call home." – School & Library Journal, starred review

"A fun play on a larger humanitarian issue ... full of nostalgia, romance, and humor." – Booklist

"Moldavsky deftly elevates the popular marriage of convenience trope by critically highlighting the insurmountable odds of the U.S. immigration system in this timely read." – Publisher's Weekly

"Grounded and relevant: A thoughtful exploration of living with uncertainty."– Kirkus

From the Publisher

12/18/2023

In 2006, 17-year-old Peruvian American Jimena Ramos, a high school senior, can’t wait to attend a great college and make her mark on the world. But after police break up a rooftop party and escort Jimena home, her terrified mother confesses that the family has overstayed their visas after emigrating from Peru. Jimena believes that her future is forfeit—unless she becomes an American citizen. Her only solution, she feels, is to marry, but finding a husband turns out to be harder than she anticipated; online ads and desperate dating get her nowhere. She is eventually drawn to her Russian American neighbor Vitaly, also 17, whose own hang-ups regarding marriage and determination to move to England ruin any chance of romance there. Still, Jimena’s growing feelings for Vitaly persist, forcing her to choose between pursuing real, authentic love or chasing after her carefully planned future at the expense of her heart. Though uneven pacing and occasionally flat dialogue lessen the impact of this promising concept, Moldavsky (Lord of the Fly Fest) deftly elevates the popular marriage of convenience trope by critically highlighting the insurmountable odds of the U.S. immigration system in this timely read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 01/01/2024

Gr 8 Up—Seventeen-year-old Jimena Ramos learns that although her family immigrated to New York City legally from Peru when she was a toddler, their visa expired years ago and she is now living in the United States illegally. Desperate to change that, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that takes her through a maze of online dating and creepy classifieds in search of a green card marriage. Jimena finds friendship and a confidant in her Russian American neighbor, Vitaly, but will she be able to hold onto this in her race against time to secure her place in the only home she's ever known? Moldavsky was, like Jimena, born in Peru, and the novel is full of Spanish conversations between Jimena and her mother. The language flows naturally and is easily understood, making the story accessible to a diverse population of readers. Through laughter, love, and unforeseen challenges, readers follow Jimena in a tale that delicately balances the lighthearted moments with the profound struggles of living in the shadows. Jimena's charming wit brings humor to what could have been a heavy narrative, and does so without trivializing the experience. Here is a novel that brightly celebrates resilience, determination, and the universal desire for a place to call home. VERDICT A great romance with characters who, despite ridiculous moments, have relatable anxieties and fears. A first good purchase for any library serving teens, but especially for collections where there might be a need for a lighter companion to The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.—Claire Covington

School Library Journal

2023-10-21
A Peruvian American teen is shocked to discover she’s undocumented.

It’s 2007, and 17-year-old Brooklynite Jimena Ramos throws a rooftop party the night before she begins senior year. When the cops shut it down, Jimena worries that her law-abiding, telenovela-watching mom will be pissed. What Jimena doesn’t count on is her mother’s revelation: They overstayed their visa and are in the U.S. illegally. Devastated, Jimena embarks on Operation Green Card. She repeatedly asks her Russian American friend and neighbor, aspiring Oxford student Vitaly Petrov, to marry her—and he repeatedly declines. Instead, after offering to help with her mission of finding a suitable marriage candidate, he shows her a PowerPoint full of strategies and functions as her bodyguard while she goes on dates. Jimena joins a dating website, certain she’ll find love and marriage. When that plan fails, she pivots to thinking about marriage as a business transaction and uses Craigslist to attract a potential husband. That, too, is a bust. Jimena then meets a blue-haired white boy activist at a DREAM Act rally, who offers to help her get her citizenship—but it all gets complicated, especially as her feelings for Vitaly begin to evolve. The first-person narrative successfully pulls at the heartstrings as Jimena’s frustrations over her stunted future, her desperate urgency to become naturalized, and her fear of deportation grow with every moment.

Grounded and relevant: a thoughtful exploration of living with uncertainty. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews