Desahogarse is a Spanish word that means to vent and "pour out your feelings": literally to undrown yourself. In René Peña-Govea's searing and cathartic young adult debut, Estela, Undrowning, a senior in high school is fueled by beautiful poetry and explosive rage.
Estela Morales attends one of San Francisco's most exclusive public high schools. She is proud of the fact that she tested in and feels distinctly different from the other brown and Black students who got in via lottery. Meanwhile, she feels like a "defective Latina" and worries Spanish will tank her college prospects. Estela asks fellow student Rogelio to tutor her, and a relationship blooms. Meanwhile, Estela uses poetry to "purge" her feelings about an eviction notice that threatens her home and family. When one of Estela's teachers announces a poetry contest that is open to "all Latiné-identified students," Estela enters and comes in second; first place going to a classmate who doesn't identify as Latiné. A controversy erupts and Estela is frustrated with how she's perceived, anxious about what will happen to her family, and harboring gruff thoughts about other minority students. Ultimately, she must undrown herself, come to terms with her toxic feelings, and fight for herself and her community.
Peña-Govea renders a sweaty and combustible city full of passionate and complicated characters who defy tidy characterizations, tackling prickly conversations about identity with care and academic-level precision. Estela's world overflows with diverse ethnic backgrounds, gender expressions, and sexual preferences that, in less sensitive hands, could feel token or flat. But Peña-Govea writes with such confidence that her characters realistically, fiercely wrestle with nuanced conversations, allowing for a classic bildungsroman with modern vitality. --Luis G. Rendon