2022 Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Jean Flynn Award for Best Young Adult Book

Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American

YA Memoir | Cover Art by Gaby D’Alessandro | Arte Público Press | Ages 14-18

“Each entry is a gem and offers insight into the struggles and triumphs of a bicultural identity.” - School Library Journal (starred review)

In this memoir for teens about growing up Afro Latina in the Deep South, Jasminne writes about feeling torn between her Dominican, Spanish-speaking culture at home and the American, English-speaking one around her. Mendez shares typical childhood experiences such as having an imaginary friend, boys and puberty, but she also exposes the anti-black racism within her own family and the conflict created by her family’s conservative traditions. Teens—and adults too—will appreciate reading about Mendez’s experiences coming of age in the United States as both black and Latina.