Thirty Talks Weird Love

By Alessandra Narváez Varela
Hardcover: $18.95

A 13-year-old girl growing up in Mexico is visited by her 30-year-old future self in this powerful YA novel in verse about handling depression.

Front cover for Treinta me habla de amor by Alessandra Narváez Varela
This book is also available in Spanish
Treinta me habla de amor
By Alessandra Narváez Varela

Description

Out of nowhere, a lady comes up to Anamaria and says she’s her, from the future. But Anamaria’s thirteen, she knows better than to talk to a stranger. Girls need to be careful, especially in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico–it’s the 90’s and fear is overtaking her beloved city as cases of kidnapped girls and women become alarmingly common. This thirty-year-old “future” lady doesn’t seem to be dangerous but she won’t stop bothering her, switching between cheesy Hallmark advice about being kind to yourself, and some mysterious talk about saving a girl.

Anamaria definitely doesn’t need any saving, she’s doing just fine. She works hard at her strict, grade-obsessed middle school–so hard that she hardly gets any sleep; so hard that the stress makes her snap not just at mean girls but even her own (few) friends; so hard that when she does sleep she dreams about dying–but she just wants to do the best she can so she can grow up to be successful. Maybe Thirty’s right, maybe she’s not supposed to be so exhausted with her life, but how can she ask for help when her city is mourning the much bigger tragedy of its stolen girls?

This thought-provoking, moving novel in verse will lead adult and young adult readers alike to vital discussions on important topics–like dealing with depression and how to recognize this in yourself and others–through the accessible voice of a thirteen-year-old girl.

About the Creators

Alessandra Narváez Varela

Alessandra Narváez Varela was born and raised in Ciudad Juárez, México. She earned a B.S. in Biology and a Bilingual M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she now teaches. Thirty Talks Weird Love is her debut novel. She lives in El Paso, Texas. Visit her website at alessandranarvaezvarela.com.

Awards

  • Southwest Book Awards Winner 2022

    Border Regional Library Association

  • RISE: A Feminist Book Project Booklist 2022

    American Library Association (ALA)

Reviews

  • * "Poignant. . . Anamaria experiments with poetry structures and formats as she explores young womanhood and self-love, composing sentimental letters to her current and older selves and salvaging friendships gone sour. As readers meet her parents, friends, and other allies, she opens up about serious mental-health concerns and personal trauma, all conveyed through her relatable persona. Fans of The House on Mango Street or The House of the Spirits will be riveted."

    - Booklist
  • * "This is a moving story of a girl on the cusp of womanhood who learns to empathize with others' sadness and finally to care for herself. A must for every library given its timely themes, international setting, and authentic protagonist voice."

    - School Library Journal
  • "In bold and gorgeous verse, Varela crafts a deeply moving and evocative story that grapples unflinchingly with issues of mental health. This is a book our young people need. Alessandra Narvaez Varela is a fresh new voice, and I can't wait to see what she writes next."

    - Jasmine Warga, Newbery Honor-award winning author of Other Words For Home and My Heart and Other Black Holes
  • "A lyrical, deeply-felt portrayal of a young woman's love for a broken city and a broken self, and the hard-won emergence of hope."

    - Francisco X. Stork, author of The Memory of Light
  • "Devastatingly profound, at once exuberant and heartbreaking, Thirty Talks Weird Love, is filled with linguistic pyrotechnics and an expansive heart. Cd. Juárez/El Paso del Norte is elevated, and celebrated by Alessandra Narváez Varela , with a deep ferocity of understanding, mercy, and love. She holds the pulse of Border life powerfully in her hands. Healer she has become through her words."

    - Denise Chavez, bookseller, activist, and author of Loving Pedro Infante
  • "Narváez Varela weaves a story of a girl on the edge: on the edge of womanhood, on the edge due to fear, on the edge with her friends, and on the edge of deciding what she wants from life. With shape poems and blackout poetry adding variety, the author tackles classism and colorism in Mexican culture, the community's collective anxiety around the missing girls, and internal fears brought about by social and academic stress. . . A gritty and absorbing tale of learning to love oneself and one's roots, warts and all."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Using a mixture of structures and styles (including free verse, prose, erasure, and concrete poems) that both keep the narrative fresh and express Anamaria's innermost thoughts, Narváez Varela fashions a thoughtful and candid portrait of a girl battling depression in a 'red cruel beautiful mother beast' of a city. Much like plumbing the contents of a poet's composition notebook, this layered story rewards multiple reads."

    - Publishers Weekly
  • "The adult-you premise is a risky one but it works here in Narváez Varela's adroit free verse narration, which puts readers right in the head of a girl who has let her smarts outsmart her and who doesn't see how close she is to the edge; her playscript dialogue with Thirty is percussive and often hilarious. . . Anamaria's compelling, clever voice will make her friends and endear her to those who feel her strains."

    - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781947627482
  • Publication Date Nov 02, 2021
  • Trim Size 8.5 × 5.5 in
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 208
  • Interests

  • Audience Young Adult
  • BISAC Category 1 YAF / People & Places / Mexico
  • BISAC Category 2 YAF / Science Fiction / Time Travel
  • BISAC Category 3 YAF / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings
  • Themes Childhood Experiences and Memories, Dreams & Aspirations, Fiction, Friendship, History & Civics, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Latinx / Latino / Hispanic, Overcoming Obstacles, Poetry, Realistic Fiction, Science Fiction / Fantasy, Teen Interest, YA interest
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 12 - 18
  • Grade Range Grades 7 - 12
  • Guided Reading Z+
  • Interest Level Grades 7 - 12
  • Lexile Code NP
  • Reading Level Grades 10 - 11
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

    • 107
      High-Low Books for Teens: Middle and High School
      Collection of 107 books: $1,639.70