Ivy League Homegirl Sofia Quintero has published her first Young Adult (YA) novel and it is in stores now! Sofia is also my homegirl and I’ve read all her books including this one (excerpts from an interview we had forthcoming). EFRAIN’S SECRET is the story of Efrain, a Puerto Rican-Dominican high school senior living in the South Bronx and preparing for graduation from the Pedro Albizu Campos HS and seeking and Ivy League education. Here’s the book synopsis from the publisher’s website:

Ambitious high school senior Efrain Rodriguez dreams of escaping the South Bronx for an Ivy League college like Harvard or Yale. But how is his family going to afford to pay for a prestigious university when Moms has to work insane hours to put food on the table as it is? And Efrain wouldn’t dare ask that good-for-nothing father of his who has traded his family in for younger models. Left with few options, Efrain chooses to do something he never thought he would. He embarks on a double life—honor student by day, drug peddler at night—convinced that by temporarily capitulating to society’s negative expectations of a boy like him, he can eventually defy them.

Sofia Quintero makes a stunning debut writing for young adults with this gritty, complex, and real exploration of the life of an urban teen whose attempt to leave one world behind for a better one could cost him everything.

As Sofia often does, she has provided a sample chapter for readers to check out so you get an idea of what to expect, what the story is about, and the accessibility of the novel. This book had me in tears at times, laughing out loud, smiling to myself, and in true shock! You can get the book today at your favorite independent book dealer, or wherever they may sell books. If your bookstore doesn’t have it ask them to get it!

It is not often when a book that centers our youth is created for them that they can relate to. Sofia has created a story that is rooted in social justice and speaks to social injustices and how this impacts the decisions we all, especially some youth, may choose (or be forced) to make.