Hello and happy Sunday. I’m excited to have gotten back on track with my posting, and I’m also excited about today’s review because even though I’m writing in English, the book I read was in Spanish. I’m talking about Rizos, a graphic novel by Claribel A. Ortega. I’d like to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The original title of Rizos is Frizzy, and I love that the meaning and the sense change because I think those of us who speak more than one language often end up constructing different versions of our identities. I’m not the same person in English and in Spanish, if that makes any sense. And, in a way, this was evident in this story because our main character, who’s a Dominican girl living in the States, in a way is forced to hide aspects of herself by straightening her hair in order to fit in at school and society in general.

Now, I know this book wasn’t written *for me:* I’m not a Dominican tween living in the States, I am not Black, and the discourse around my hair has been way different than what Marlene had to endure growing up. That being said, I think this is a very powerful and empowering story for young people who might identify with the main character and relate to what she goes through. I teared up at times, and at the end I smiled and felt hopeful. I think this is a must for tweens, regardless of their background.