The Making of Yolanda La Bruja
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When I finished The Making of Yolanda La Bruja, I had to take a moment. A moment to sit with the work of Lorraine Avila and let the emotions flow through. It’s like drinking un chocolate con melted queso cheddar in the bottom, that reminds you of your roots. While stinging your tongue because it was too hot, to begin with, but you couldn’t wait to get the melted cheese.
Yolanda
Yolanda Alvarez is a young, bright, student at Julia De Burgos High School in the Bronx. She has her best friend, Victory, by her side. Yolanda is celebrating a birthday and the signs that her initiation into her family’s bruja tradition is beginning soon. She feels it and the Bruja Diosas say so too! Everything seemed like it was going well. Yolanda balances living between her grandmother’s place and her mother’s while her dad is away for some time.
A New Student
A new boy is attending Julia De Burgos, and the energy is shifting. While Yolanda is waiting for the Bruja Diosas to show themself to her, she starts dealing with the new kid’s bad energy. She starts having visions, a part of her “don”, her spiritual gift. Yolanda does not know what to do with these visions. Who can she share them with? Victory knows all about them and tries to get her to speak up. Will any adult at Julia De Burgos believe her?
How can Yolanda protect her community? She gets the help of her grandmother, a wise spiritual woman who is trying to guide Yolanda through the initiation process but the Gods that be won’t let her. This is Yolanda’s initiation after all.
The Making of Yolanda La Bruja
The Making of Yolanda La Bruja is a book that tackles gun violence, the intersection of race, justice, and education. The care and protection Lorraine Avila put into discussing spirituality and the practice of Yolanda and her Grandmother was beautiful. This is something the book also discusses alongside the other important topics that affect the youth and adults alike in today’s climate.
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This blog post contains affiliate links, to read CE’s affiliate disclosure, click HERE. Lastly, this book was received by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.