When I Am Singing to You

When I Am Singing to You has won First Place, YA fiction ebook (English/Spanish) in the 2012 International Latino Book Awards.

When I Am Singing to You is also named one of the "16 Essential Latino Children's Books by ¿Qué Más?, the blog for MamasLatinas, the leading bilingual online site for Hispanic moms. This site has 780,000 unique visitors a month.

With her family, fourteen-year-old Carmen Delgada puts in long days in the Iowa farm fields. The work is backbreaking and the paychecks don’t always arrive on time.

To survive, the Delgadas live off and on in an old school bus, avoid doctors, and use the local food bank. Carmen's mother Zoila makes life even harder by having another baby and falling into a deep depression. Zoila kicks Carmen out after a terrible misunderstanding.

After some dangerous run-ins with people she meets hitchhiking, Carmen lands safely at the Des Moines YWCA, a homeless shelter for poor women and teens. Despite making new friends and not having to work in the fields, Carmen aches to return home. She writes emotional letters to her mother, unsure if Zoila even receives them.

When Carmen discovers her friend Hazel is pregnant, she vows to help her—a decision that results in tragedy and a scandal for the Y.

When I Am Singing to You is a coming of age story that is also about a daughter’s fierce determination to go home.