Iveliz recently moved from Puerto Rico to Baltimore in the debut novel-in-verse, “Iveliz Explains It All” (Random House 2022) by Andrea Beatriz Arango,
which won a Newbery Honor this year. Considering that seventh grader Iveliz is troubled and can’t even explain to her psychiatrist how she’s feeling, the title is ironic.
Iveliz speaks freely about her mental health issues and the medications she must take, which upsets her grandmother, Mimi, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Iveliz’s father has died in an accident and Iveliz feels responsible. Iveliz’s single mother, Mami, is overwhelmed by caring for her preteen daughter and ageing mother.
The relationship between Iveliz and her bestie, Amir, is realistically erratic. As people of color, both are targets of racist bullies. But Iveliz is trying to make a new start in seventh grade, but she’s confused, so she tries to work things out by writing a journal—this book.
Arango depicts the antagonistic classmate, Jessica, perfectly when she overhears that Iveliz’s grandmother, Mimi, will be moving from Puerto Rico to join them in Baltimore. “…Jessica was all: Omg whaaaaaat?/ That’s so sad./ Is she coming here illegally/ or are you, like, getting her a visa?/ ’Cause, you know,/ we’re all about immigration, but,/ do it right.” So Iveliz loses control and slugs Jessica. Iveliz is punished but Jessica is not. We feel the deep injustice of this. And we know it happens all the time in real life.
Iveliz is frequently in trouble because she flies off the handle. Her meds are helping, but not totally. Life is difficult for this kid and young readers will feel deeply for her. There are Spanish phrases thrown in, which I love, being a life-long studier of Spanish. Those that I couldn’t translate must be Puerto Rican slang, but we know by context the general meaning.
Inspite of Mimi’s objection to the meds that Iveliz takes to ward of an even deeper depression, Mimi is a support to her granddaughter and Iveliz loves her. A small bonus is a view of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. “Blue tarps stretching farther than the eye can see—/ literally whole mountains speckled with blue roofs/ and roads broken in half like they were twigs.”
In searching for her voice, Iveliz discovers that she can’t do it alone and must learn to trust other people. She goes from dubbing her psychiatrist Dr. Turnip to respecting and trusting her. It turns out that Iveliz is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, but we don’t realize that till pretty far along in the story.
This is an important book about dealing with mental health issues, specifically seeing a young person learn to fight for herself in healthy ways when she lets others in. It’s a book that spans both middle grade and young adult readers, as well as adult readers.
Patricia Hruby Powell is the author of the award-winning books: Lift As You Climb; Josephine; Loving vs Virginia; and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue all signed and for sale at Jane Addams bookstore. Books forthcoming about women’s suffrage, Martha Graham, and Ella Fitzgerald. talesforallages.com
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