Alexandra

Méndez

Middle Grade Novelist

Educator

Travels from: New York, NY

“With lush language and and excellent structure, this novel captures the beauty of family, stories, changes—many magical—that come with growing up…This debut novel of magical realism presents an exquisite exploration of Mexican storytelling and a girl’s coming-of-age as she learns to trust herself and find her way through her family’s history.” — School Library Journal

Alexandra V. Méndez is a writer, teacher, and scholar who grew up bilingual in Decatur, Georgia, with family roots in Mexico and Mississippi. She graduated from Harvard University in History and Literature and has a Ph.D. in Latin American and Iberian Cultures from Columbia University.

In Alexandra’s debut novel, Jade is starting eighth grade in a new city—Atlanta. She just wants to go back to Chicago, where her friends are. Where her Abuela lives. But as her Abuela suddenly falls ill and two towers come crashing down in New York City, Jade becomes someone or something she doesn’t yet understand. She must learn to have patience and strength to become who she was always meant to be, as the stirrings of an ancient power awaken within her.

What the Jaguar Told Her is a lyrical debut about growing up in the midst of change, and a magical cultural homecoming.

Alexandra's Featured Titles

What the Jaguar Told Her

Levine Querido |

October 11, 2022

Middle Grade Fiction

Jade is starting eighth grade in a new city—Atlanta. She just wants to go back to Chicago, where her friends are. Where her Abuela lives.

But Jade does like walking to her new school on the trail that winds through the woods behind her house, where lush flowers bloom and soft leaves rustle beneath her feet. In the forest, Jade feels protected. Sometimes, it’s as if it’s listening to her.

There, Jade meets Itztli, an elderly storyteller who exists between dreams and reality. In the golden afternoons when Itztli appears, he steps out of the forest as a lithe, agile jaguar. But when he speaks to Jade, he is a wise old man who makes intricate works of art and tells her ancestral stories of Mexico. At first, Itztli’s stories feel far removed from Jade’s life. But as her Abuela suddenly falls ill, two towers come crashing down in New York City, and Jade becomes someone or something she doesn’t yet understand, Itztli’s stories take on new meaning. Jade must learn to have patience and strength to become who she was always meant to be, as the stirrings of an ancient power awaken within her.

What the Jaguar Told Her is a lyrical debut about growing up in the midst of change, and a magical cultural homecoming.

Exploring Belonging Through Magical Realism | English or Spanish

This talk combines a craft talk as a part of a larger event that includes reading excerpts from the novel What the Jaguar Told Her. Through a series of prompts, participants will explore language, family, place, bodies, and identity in fictionalizing their own experience with belonging, all through the lens of magical realism.

The Coming-of-Age Novel | English or Spanish

This talk includes Méndez’s trajectory as a writer, her own coming-of-age experience, and how it informs the novel. She will then facilitate audience interaction by inviting participants to reflect on their own lives and journeys.

Identity, Research, and Writing | English or Spanish

This talk explores her Mexican-American identity and how her research in Latin American colonial studies informed the novel.

Tlacuilo: The role of the writer-painter | English or Spanish

This talk includes an accessible dive into Mesoamerican art and codices, the figure of the tlacuilo (writer-painter), and the complexities of seeking answers to one’s identity in history and cultural heritage.

Reimagining the American South | English or Spanish

This talk considers the diversity of the South, and how we can represent that in literature. How do we write stories about the South that take into account its Indigenous history? How do we write stories that reflect the experiences of immigrants and their descendants? How do we write stories about the complex interactions among different races and ethnicities, especially given the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement?

Writing the Natural World | English or Spanish

This talk considers how to observe environments attentively and render these on the page, in order to evoke place and the way characters experience it. The talk includes a series of readings in which the author discusses writing about native plants, natural landscapes, and threats of deforestation in an urban setting. Writing prompts invite participants to consider their own relationship to the natural world.

“The novel explores themes of identity, friendship, crushes, loss, and looking for answers to life’s toughest questions in sumptuous detail. A coming-of-age story with parallels to Judy Blume’s classic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, this work captures the complexities of being a tween girl seeking to find her place in the world and connections to ancestors through a Latine cultural lens. A thoughtful, richly woven tapestry illuminating the pains and joys of growing up.” — Kirkus (starred)

“This title is a reminder to hold the stories of family and culture near and dear to our hearts before they are lost to the world. The magic realism and tie-in to Latino folklore create a wonderful coming-of-age story about a girl who’s exploring who she is while discovering the power of stories through art.” — Booklist

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Teaching Guide | What the Jaguar Told Her

Write Magical Realism with Alexandra Méndez

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Gold Medal for Best Latino Focused Chapter Book at the International Latino Book Awards
Kirkus | Best Middle-Grade Fiction of 2022
Kirkus | Recommendation for Hispanic Heritage Month
Southern Review of Books | Best Book of October 2022
Harvard University | History and Literature Degree
Columbia University | Ph.D., Latin American and Iberian Cultures