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A queer YA coming-of-age set during the rigged Honduran presidential election about a young poet discovering the courage it takes to speak her truth about the people and country she loves.
As the contentious 2017 presidential election looms and protests rage across every corner of the city, life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, churns louder and faster. For her part, high school senior Libertad (Libi) Morazán takes heart in writing political poetry for her anonymous Instagram account and a budding romance with someone new. But things come to a head when Mami sees texts on her phone mentioning a kiss with a girl and Libi discovers her beloved older brother, Maynor, playing a major role in the protests. As Libertad faces the political and social corruption around her, stifling homophobia at home and school, and ramped up threats to her poetry online, she begins dreaming of a future in which she doesn't have to hide who she is or worry about someone she loves losing their life just for speaking up. Then the ultimate tragedy strikes, and leaving her family and friends—plus the only home she's ever known—might be her only option.
"Zaldívar seamlessly weaves Honduran history and politics into the narrative. The characters are beautifully complex, and the multiple perspectives provide key moments of reflection and deep insight... .The existential question of whether to stay or leave will resonate with readers from all backgrounds." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Through the eyes of a strong, sympathetic protagonist, Zaldívar crafts a hefty novel that offers detailed depictions of life in Honduras where characters experience random power outages, widespread corruption, and violent political demonstrations, and the personal tragedies they often bring, alongside daily comforts such as snacking on fried plantains and cold Coca-Cola." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An evocative, nuanced, and powerful coming-of-age story that skillfully explores the many ways in which the personal is political." —Randy Ribay, author of National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing
"From page one to the very end, I never stopped clutching my chest. Libertad will knock you off your feet." —Olivia A. Cole, acclaimed author of Dear Medusa
This information about Libertad was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born in 1997 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Bessie Flores Zaldívar is a writer and professor of fiction. They're currently based in the New Haven area. Libertad is Bessie's debut novel.
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