Ultraviolet

By Aida Salazar

 

 

Publisher: ‎Scholastic Press 

Language: ‎English

Hardcover: ‎304 pages

ISBN-10: ‎1338775650

ISBN-13: ‎978-1338775655

Reading age: ‎10 years and up

 

Sometimes life explodes in technicolor.

 

In the spirit of Judy Blume, award-winning author Aida Salazar tells it like it is about puberty, hormones, and first love in this hilarious, heartwarming, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Adib Khorram.

 

For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change―His body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who’s always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend.

 

But then, betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, a fight to prove his manhood, and defend Camelia’s honor. He doesn’t anticipate the dire consequences―or that Camelia’s not looking for a savior.

 

Ultraviolet digs deep into themes of consent, puberty, masculinity, and the emotional lives of boys, as it challenges stereotypes and offers another way to be in the world.

 

 

Review

 

* “Salazar writes from a place of abundant empathy. . . . Her frank but thoughtful approach to puberty and sexuality . . . provides valuable life lessons to young readers without tilting into preachiness. . . . Could inspire in-depth conversations on the broad spectrum of coming-of-age narratives and experiences. Yet another heartfelt and accessible tale of growing up from one of the best in modern children’s literature.” ―School Library Journal, starred review

 

* “Written in Salazar’s stunning and highly accessible verse . . . this novel stands out for the thoughtful way it expresses a young boy’s perspective as it discusses topics such as masculinity and consent. . . . A story that sings to the soul.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

* “In a succinct, conversational style, Salazar (A Seed in the Sun) humorously and introspectively depicts the effects of puberty on Elio’s everyday life as he grapples with confusing messaging he receives about how to be a man. Issues around consent and patriarchal systems are handled with insight and sensitivity, culminating in a compassionate verse novel about first love, heartbreak, and vulnerability.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

 

Aida Salazar is an award-winning author and arts activist whose writings for adults and children explore issues of identity and social justice. She is the author of the middle-grade verse novels The Moon Within (International Latino Book Award Winner), Land of the Cranes (Americas Award Winner), the picture book anthology, In the Spirit of a Dream, and the picture book biography Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter. She is a founding member of Las Musas, a Latinx kidlit debut author collective. Her short story "By the Light of the Moon" was adapted into a ballet production by the Sonoma Conservatory of Dance and is the first Xicana-themed ballet in history. She lives with her family of artists in Oakland, California.

Gluten-free Chicano food: Summertime is Guisadotime

Carne Molida and Papas in Chile Cheese Sauce: A Classic Guisado

Michael Sedano, The Gluten-free Chicano

**see Carb count at the bottom of the page**

 

The Gluten-free Chicano loves a hearty guisado any day of the year, weather cold or weather hot or somewhere in-between. There's always room for guisado, the spicy, stew that's a hallmark of genuine Mexican-Chicano home cooking. 

 

Guisado refers to the cooking method, something cooked in savory liquid, usually over extended time over low heat. In raza kitchens, guisado often means a slow-cooked meat and vegetable stew. Guisados are universal in our comida because they are fast and easily prepared, delicious, and accommodating to a frantic end-of-the-day schedule.

 

Clean-up's a breeze. in addition to trastes from the meal, you'll clean a knife, a cutting board, one pot or deep frying pan, an optional lid.

 

Today, el Gluten-free Chicas Patas shares a classic guisado named "those potatoes in red cheese sauce with ground beef." Millions of Chicanas Chicanos in greater Aztlán know the dish and every household no matter poor or middle class, ate a version of this on a regular basis. This is as genuine as genuine gets when you say, "Let's eat Mexican food tonight!"

 

Ingredients in four to six servings:

Brown or white onion

3 or more cloves garlic

1 small bell pepper

4 peeled potatoes 

1 carrot

1/2 stalk celery

gebhardt's chile powder

1 can 15 oz tomato sauce

good cheddar cheese

olive oil

3/4 lb good ground beef (80/90%)

 

Easy Preparation:

Mince the onion and garlic

Chop the potatoes and bell pepper into spoon-size chunks

Slice the carrot into rounds or chop

Mince the celery leaves and stalk

(One of the Gluten-free Chicano's gente is no fan of bell pepper so the pepper's cut large for easy removal. The flavor's in the food.)

 

Fast Cooking:

In a deep pot or frying pan, be generous with the olive oil (especially if using 93% beef) and wilt the onion and garlic over medium heat.

Sprinkle with ample Gebhardt's or another good ground red chile powder.

 

Up the heat, add the papas, carrots, pepper, and celery. Keep stirring and get everything lightly browned. The aroma now will make you weak-kneed and grateful.

 

Add the meat and break it up into fork-size crumbles as the mélange gets cooking and mouth-watering.

 

Time for other duties:

Lower the heat to medium.

Pour in a can of tomato sauce.

Rinse the can twice with tap water and add to the pot or pan.

Dab six or eight 1" cubes of cheese across the surface.

 

Cover, lower heat and let it cook for fifteen or thirty minutes or longer. The lower the flame/heat, the longer you have. The slow-cook method breaks down the potato to produce a richly-flavored thick broth.

 

In a hurry:

Cover, raise the heat, and cook for 15 minutes or less , stirring occasionally, until a fork easily pierces a papa and all the cheese is dissolved into the red soup.

 

Serve with hot corn tortillas

Carbs approximately 176 in entire recipe, or 35g per serving (5).

4 potatoes, 31g per potato 

1 onion, 16g

1 carrot, 12g

4 garlics, 1g

1/2 stalk celery, 1g

tomato sauce, 16 oz, 18g

cheddar cheese, 1 cup, 4g

beef, 0g

 

Carb counter:

http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/advsearch.php

 

 

 

Comentario de Katori Walker para _Corazón de agua / Heart of Water_

Comentario de Katori Walker para _Corazón de agua / Heart of Water_

 

Corazón de agua / Heart of Water es una colección de poesía única y poderosa que explora el espíritu humano y los misterios de la existencia con pensamientos provocativos de autorreflexión y momentos profundos de introspección. El uso exquisito de las palabras de Xánath Caraza, profesora y poeta, crea un ritmo y un fluir que permite a los lectores descubrir la conexión entre emoción, belleza y ausencia. Como menciona en uno de los poemas del libro titulado “Aliento”, ‘…No hay nada que sea mío / en esta tierra / sólo mi respiración…’, gentilmente nos lleva a un estado de consciencia, a través de la interacción de observaciones sutiles y la aceptación radical de nuestra circunstancia presente.  Es con gran entendimiento e inteligencia que una selección de palabras en negritas está entre tejidas con el texto para crear una conexión figurada escondida en plena vista para cultivar una nueva perspectiva que estimule imágenes vibrantes en los corazones y mentes del lector.

 

Katori Walker vive en la ciudad de Nueva York. Es una artista multimedia, poeta, guionista, educadora en meditación y la autora de tres Rookie Read-About Geography Series (Scholastic Library Publishing).

 

Corazón de agua/Heart of Water is a unique and powerful collection of poetry that explores the human spirit and its mysteries of existence within thought-provoking self-reflection and deep introspective moments. Professor and Poet, Xanath Caraza’s exquisite use of words creates a rhythm and flow that allows readers to discover the connection between emotions, beauty and impermanence. As in one of her poems inside the book titled “Inhalation”, ‘…There is nothing that is mine / in this land / except my breathing…,’ it gently awakens us through the interplay of quiet observation and the radical acceptance of our own present circumstance. It is with great insight and cleverness that selections of boldface words are weaved within the text to create a surreal connection that is hidden in plain sight to raise a new perspective that stimulates vibrant imagery in our heart and mind.

 

Katori Walker lives in New York City. She is a multimedia artist, poet, playwright, meditation educator, and the author of three Rookie Read-About Geography Series (Scholastic Library Publishing).