When We Make It

A “raw, breathtaking, and brilliant” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult novel-in-verse where a first-generation Puerto Rican girl refuses to stop asking questions.

“The energy. The clarity. The beauty. Elisabet Velasquez brings it all. . . . Her voice is FIRE!”—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

“Exquisite poetry portrays not only anger and fear, but also hope . . . Gripping and soulful.”—School Library Journal, starred review

Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican question asker who sees the truth, pain, humor, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Sarai knows that asking questions is the smartest thing she can do, especially when navigating family trauma, masculinity in its most toxic form, and the systemic pressures of life in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Questioning allows Sarai to live with determination and laughter, and to celebrate herself in a way that has long been denied.

When We Make It is an unforgettable debut novel-in-verse written in conversation with the Nuyorican poetry and literature that has come before it. Elisabet Velasquez’ novel is a love letter to girls who were taught to believe that they would not make it at all, for those born with stories already erased, and those redefining what it means to “make it” every damn day.