In the title story, Lucinda hatches a clever plan to get her boyfriend back and is crushed when she ultimately realizes that it’s impossible to force a guy to love you. Like all young people, she ignores the advice of her mom and learns that lesson—and many more—the hard way.
In this bilingual collection of ten short stories for young people, kids deal with both serious and humorous consequences after they ignore their parents’ suggestions and disobey rules. At a friend’s house on New Year’s Eve, Raymond plays with fireworks even though he promised his parents he wouldn’t. Kids on a track team search for a mysterious naked woman with embarrassing results. And two girls in a wax museum are in for a surprise when they ignore the signs about touching the figures.
These short and accessible contemporary stories are alternately amusing and poignant as they explore issues relevant to today’s youth. Teens deal with everything from grandparents suffering from dementia to difficult customers at a first job. And in one story, a young girl grieves the loss of her baby, a miscarriage her mom calls a “blessing.” These stories highlight the emotional tailspins of living in a complicated world.
Click here to listen to an interview with Diane Gonzales Bertrand about There’s A Name For This Feeling / Hay un nombre para lo que siento.
Writers’ League of Texas’ Middle Grade/Young Adult Discovery Prize Winner
Finalist for the 2014 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
“Bertrand’s characters are well-crafted and manage to suggest lives beyond the page. These educational short stories make for appealing, quick reads.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Teens across cultures will relate to the experiences shared in these stories…This volume of short stories should appeal to reluctant tween and teen readers.”—School Library Journal
“Expressing a full range of contemporary realism…Bertrand displays a marked facility in switching between topic, form and genre. These kids display a lot of approachability…giving the collection the potential to reach a wide audience.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
DIANE GONZALES BERTRAND is the author of several books for young adults. They include There’s a Name for This Feeling / Hay un nombre para lo que siento (Piñata Books, 2014), The F Factor (Piñata Books, 2010), Close to the Heart (2002), Trino’s Time (2001), Trino’s Choice (1999), Lessons of the Game (1998), and Sweet Fifteen (1995). A lifelong resident of San Antonio, Bertrand teaches at St. Mary’s University, where she is also Writer in Residence.
Learn more by visiting her faculty page.
ATOS Interest Level: Middle/Upper Grades
Category: Young Adult
LEXILE: 750L
LEXILE SPANISH: 720L
Click here for the book’s teaching guide.
