Rosa by Any Other Name

Praise

“What’s in a name? For Mexican American teen Rosa Capistrano, it’s everything— college, opportunity, her future. In Rosa by Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz, it’s staying at her school as ‘Rosie,’ where she has a chance of achieving the life she wants, one that will make her and her family’s sacrifice worth it. But when one of her classmates falls in love with her best friend, Rosa’s delicate balance of separating school from her barrio is upended. Against the backdrop of civil rights demonstrations and school desegregation, Alcaraz deftly explores identity and the pressure to assimilate in this Romeo and Juliet-inspired retelling. The characters are full-bodied and familiar. The prose is captivating and honest as it confronts racism, discrimination and the real fears that can be met when revealing your true self. Brave and determined, Rosa is a chameleon, cautiously blending into the background—until she can’t. Rosa by Any Other Name is a smart, engaging call-to-action complete with star-crossed lovers, tragedy, and hope where “separate is not equal” and one voice in the crowd can make a difference.”
—Krystal Marquis, New York Times bestselling author of The Davenports

“Alcaraz’ characters jump off the page in this achingly resonant and romantic story about those who fight through fear to tell the truths too-often erased from history.”  
—Shannon C.F. Rogers, author of I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom and Eighteen Roses

“A vivid snapshot of Phoenix in the ’50s, this moving novel of star-crossed lovers feels incredibly timely and raises important questions of what we’re willing to give up—for an education, for a future, for love.”
—Susan Kaplan Carlton, author of In the Neighborhood of True