“We loved having Jennifer here! She has such a happy, positive presence and her overwhelming kindness made it such a pleasure to host her. She was well prepared for her sessions and extremely easy to work with. A true delight from beginning to end!” — Calvin Center for Faith & Writing, 2024
“Jennifer De Leon spent the day with our students and faculty in four different session and brought so much energy and enthusiasm to her conversations and presentations. The stories she told about her own life and how she became an author and her own experiences in school were so well told and inspiring. She was very open and approachable and our students and faculty felt comfortable talking with her and asking questions.” — Wellesley High School, 2024
“The entire day with Ms. De Leon was impactful and memorable. Her work directly connected with the students, and even though we had to Zoom in our high school students due to space constraints, for months afterward, they shared appreciation and gratitude for her resonant presentation. Ms. De Leon has incredible energy, and she has a gift for seeing the capability and energy of others. This really emerged during the small writing workshop with our Upper Form (junior high) students. Ms. De Leon inspired us!” — Alyson Barrett, Convent & Stuart Hall, 2023
“It was amazing! Jenn visited the 8th graders at all five of our middle schools. She is a natural and engaging story-teller and our students were immediately hooked by details that were familiar in their own lives: code-switching, social pressure, and questions of identity. While each presentation varied slightly due to student questions, there was an enduring message of encouragement for students to be who they are and do what they love.” — Laura Smith, Literacy Coach, Cambridge Public Schools
“Jenn was EXCELLENT! So many students and faculty alike were completely enamored and supported by her words, stories, and fellowship. People mostly commented on her vulnerability and accessibility as she answered as many questions as possible and provided time for intimate conversation about personal experiences…Jenn’s ability to draw a group into a space that afforded open and vulnerable introspection and conversation. Students who are traditionally uncentered felt seen and heard, even those who may be more aligned or viewed as part of the majority were able to let their guard down and ask questions that helped them explore their own affiliation with non-centered parts of their identity.” — Grant Hightower, Director of Community and Equity, Concord Academy
“AMAZING! We were so thrilled to have Jenn and I could not have been happier with how it went. She was on time and willing to roll with a kind of a weird day (Zoom, in person in multiple locations). She was so down to earth and made everyone feel very comfortable right away. It was a great day. My students who read her book loved talking about it, and they thought it was really cool when she asked them questions about what they would have done differently, or their opinions about alternate endings. They were very into this!” — Chris Donovan, English Teacher, Ayer Shirley Regional High School
“Jenn’s presentation could not have gone better! It exceeded my expectations. Jenn really knows how to talk to high school students and they hung on her every word — they weren’t even on their phones.” — Sharon Burke, Library Media Specialist, Reading Memorial High School
“A funny, perceptive, and much-needed book telling a much-needed story.” — Celeste Ng, author of the New York Times bestseller Little Fires Everywhere
“A thought-provoking tale about navigating race and immigration issues.”— Kirkus Reviews
“An energetically paced, boundary-pushing novel that raises important questions of race, identity, belonging, true friendship, and how to stand up for a cause you truly believe in.”— Booklist
“Familiar territory for readers who straddle two cultures, for anyone who has had to be a newcomer, and, in this era, anyone who has ever worried about the impact of deportation on families. A timely addition to most collections.”— School Library Journal
“A thought-provoking tale about navigating race and immigration issues.”— Kirkus Reviews
“An energetically paced, boundary-pushing novel that raises important questions of race, identity, belonging, true friendship, and how to stand up for a cause you truly believe in.”— Booklist
“Familiar territory for readers who straddle two cultures, for anyone who has had to be a newcomer, and, in this era, anyone who has ever worried about the impact of deportation on families. A timely addition to most collections.”— School Library Journal
“De Leon’s debut handles issues such as immigration, deportation, assimilation, and Trump-era racial tensions in a humorous yet resonant way.”— Publishers Weekly
“A thought-provoking tale about navigating race and immigration issues.”— Kirkus Reviews
“An energetically paced, boundary-pushing novel that raises important questions of race, identity, belonging, true friendship, and how to stand up for a cause you truly believe in.”— Booklist
“Familiar territory for readers who straddle two cultures, for anyone who has had to be a newcomer, and, in this era, anyone who has ever worried about the impact of deportation on families. A timely addition to most collections.”— School Library Journal
