Lilliam Rivera
Author of The Education of Margot Sanchez
About the Author
Works by Lilliam Rivera
Associated Works
From a Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empire Strikes Back (2020) — Contributor — 512 copies, 8 reviews
Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora (2021) — Contributor — 176 copies, 3 reviews
Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories (2022) — Contributor — 144 copies, 1 review
Come On In: 15 Stories about Immigration and Finding Home (2020) — Contributor — 137 copies, 6 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 20th Century
- Gender
- female
- Awards and honors
- 2016 Pushcart Prize winner
2015 Clarion alumni with a Leonard Pung Memorial Scholarship - Agent
- Eddie Schneider (JABberwocky Literary Agency)
- Short biography
- Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of the young adult novels Never Look Back, a Pura Belpré Honor winner, Dealing In Dreams, The Education of Margot Sanchez, as well as the Goldie Vance series for middle grade readers, and the stand-alone middle grade novel Barely Floating. Her forthcoming works include a young adult science fiction novel, We Light Up the Sky, for Bloomsbury (Oct 5, 2021) and a graphic novel for DC Comics, Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story (September 14, 2021). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Bronx, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
On the one hand: love the activist parenting, love that Nat is so self-confident and self-reliant. The Artistic swimming and its intense physical requirements as a sport is very cool to read about. The love of anime/cons is also excellent. While I have a hard time with Nat's personality, I love that she was given the tools to try and manage her frustrations and that meditation and pausing started to really work for her. This definitely feels like a book that's perfect for tweens starting to show more push the boundaries as they develop into their own people. I also loved Sheila's story arc, but of course I wish it worked out better for her. I like that the book is fat positive, even as it explores the triggering sorts of doubts that come from helpful bystanders.
On the other hand, oof. I don't know if Nat's personality was such a turn-off for me because I disliked it or because I identified too heavily with some of it. She's smart and confident, but also bratty and confrontational and it's exhausting to read (for me). show less
On the other hand, oof. I don't know if Nat's personality was such a turn-off for me because I disliked it or because I identified too heavily with some of it. She's smart and confident, but also bratty and confrontational and it's exhausting to read (for me). show less
" Puerto Rico is not a cursed island meant to be repeatedly ravished, be it from hurricanes or corrupt men or demented spirits. If I let her thought nestle into my bones, I will stay complacent. I will accept evil as something warranted. I know I don't deserve this, and neither does my home."- Eury
Firstly, thanks to @bloomsburyya and @lilliamr for this gifted copy. Never Look Back completely gutted me. I finished it last week but I still can't find the words to express how beautiful this show more story was. It was poetic, insightful, inspiring, haunting yet hopeful and magical. The fact that this book was a ode to my beautiful homeland, Puerto Rico and a reminder of its resilience brought literal tears to my eyes. I sat in silence when it was over and cried my eyes out and then I smiled because it was so cathartic and gave me newfound hope. This releases tomorrow, the first day of Latinx Heritage Month and what a way to start the celebration.
What I loved the most:
● authentic Afro-Latinx representation
● mental health awareness
● celebration of Puerto Rican culture
● cleverly woven NYC history and U.S.- Puerto Rico relations/ colonial history
● magical realism and spotlight of our ancestor's spirituality practices
● innocence of first love
● strength of Puerto Rican people, especially families
● resilience of Puerto Ricans
● refreshing, contemporary take on a Greek retelling
● reclaiming of our narrative
● case study of grief and healing
● highlights the power of love and faith
I am forever grateful that this book exists, that it speaks to who my people are and it celebrates how far we have come despite our devastating losses. It reminds me that I am a descendent of greatness and that when I feel hopeless and weak, I can tap into the spirit of my ancestors for lessons about life and resilience. My biggest take away is that grief will haunt you and steal your joy if you don't confront it head on. Bookdragon rates it 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 show less
Firstly, thanks to @bloomsburyya and @lilliamr for this gifted copy. Never Look Back completely gutted me. I finished it last week but I still can't find the words to express how beautiful this show more story was. It was poetic, insightful, inspiring, haunting yet hopeful and magical. The fact that this book was a ode to my beautiful homeland, Puerto Rico and a reminder of its resilience brought literal tears to my eyes. I sat in silence when it was over and cried my eyes out and then I smiled because it was so cathartic and gave me newfound hope. This releases tomorrow, the first day of Latinx Heritage Month and what a way to start the celebration.
What I loved the most:
● authentic Afro-Latinx representation
● mental health awareness
● celebration of Puerto Rican culture
● cleverly woven NYC history and U.S.- Puerto Rico relations/ colonial history
● magical realism and spotlight of our ancestor's spirituality practices
● innocence of first love
● strength of Puerto Rican people, especially families
● resilience of Puerto Ricans
● refreshing, contemporary take on a Greek retelling
● reclaiming of our narrative
● case study of grief and healing
● highlights the power of love and faith
I am forever grateful that this book exists, that it speaks to who my people are and it celebrates how far we have come despite our devastating losses. It reminds me that I am a descendent of greatness and that when I feel hopeless and weak, I can tap into the spirit of my ancestors for lessons about life and resilience. My biggest take away is that grief will haunt you and steal your joy if you don't confront it head on. Bookdragon rates it 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 show less
I guess it's on me that I had preconceived notions that a DC graphic novel about Jessica Cruz would involve a Green Lantern ring at some point. And while there is a green ring, it has no powers beyond invoking sentimentality. And some figures from Aztec mythology show up, but only as part of some odd hallucination or dream sequences where they might as well have been a little angel and devil yapping from Cruz's shoulders.
Cruz is rebooted as a high school junior dealing with the stresses of show more being an undocumented immigrant in the U.S.A. in a city where the frontrunner in the mayoral race is running on a platform of more ICE arrests and deportations. When not hallucinating, Cruz gets increasingly scared, frustrated, and angry, withdrawing from her friends, including a teen boy named John Stewart.
It's an emotional journey, not a plot-driven one, which wasn't of much interest to me. And the art was angular and off-putting with the characters experiencing weird inconsistencies in proportions and height throughout. show less
Cruz is rebooted as a high school junior dealing with the stresses of show more being an undocumented immigrant in the U.S.A. in a city where the frontrunner in the mayoral race is running on a platform of more ICE arrests and deportations. When not hallucinating, Cruz gets increasingly scared, frustrated, and angry, withdrawing from her friends, including a teen boy named John Stewart.
It's an emotional journey, not a plot-driven one, which wasn't of much interest to me. And the art was angular and off-putting with the characters experiencing weird inconsistencies in proportions and height throughout. show less
This is a haunting exploration of ambition turned nightmare. Samara, thrilled to land her dream job with legendary designer Antonio Mota, quickly spirals as the pressures of the fashion world intensify. What starts as a glamorous opportunity in California unravels into a chilling descent into madness, with eerie voices and unsettling visions haunting her nights. As she delves deeper, dark secrets about Mota and the city emerge, forcing her to confront external and internal demons. Rivera show more blends horror with a critique of the fashion industry, making this novel a gripping and unsettling read. Samara's journey is a cautionary tale of the high price of success. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 9
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 1,006
- Popularity
- #25,630
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 30
- ISBNs
- 61
- Languages
- 1
