¡Ándale, Prieta!

This beautifully open coming-of-age memoir by a Mexican American debut writer doubles as a love letter to the tough grandmother who raised her.When I tell people who don't speak Spanish what prieta means—dark or the dark one—their eyes pop open and a small gasp escapes ... How do I tell them that now, even after the cruelty of children, Prieta means love? That each time Prieta fell from my grandmother's lips, I learned to love my dark skin. No one calls me that anymore. I miss how her words sounded out loud. My Ita called me Prieta. When she died, she took the name with her. Anchored by the tough grandmother who taught her how to stand firm and throw a punch, debut author Yasmín Ramírez writes about the punches life has thrown at her non-traditional family of tough Mexican American women. Having spent years of her twenties feeling lost—working an intensely taxing retail job and turning to bars for comfort—the blow of her grandmother's death pushes Yasmín to unravel. So she comes...