"Estela, Undrowning is a flood rush to the heart! A compelling, nuanced, beautiful story of the complexity of growing up Chicana in San Francisco in a system that seeks to drown us with classism, racism, and in-fighting. Estela’s struggles with anxiety, friendship, cultura, and new love, offers young readers powerful and poetic ways to reckon with, resist, and change our world for the better. It rises from the depths and lifts us all." — Aida Salazar, author of the Pura Belpre Honor book Ultraviolet and the Caldecott Honor book, Jovita Wore Pants
“Heartfelt and beautifully written, Estela Undrowning features a flawed protagonist trying to navigate a flawed world--in other words, it’s a highly relatable story of change, struggle, and growth, both personal and systemic.“ — Randy Ribay, National Book Award finalist for Patron Saints of Nothing
“What a joy to witness Estela’s journey as she interrogates not only the unjust systems around her but what role she can choose to play in their dismantling and transformation. In Estela Undrowning, Peña-Govea offers a beautiful balm, a powerful wake-up call, and a fierce rallying cry at time when we need it most.” — Natalia Sylvester, Pura Belpré Honor-winning author of Breathe and Count Back from Ten and Running
"Estela, Undrowning is an unflinching tribute to Frisco, the soul of San Francisco. Against the backdrop of gentrification, cultural erasure, and a high school hostile to Black and Brown students, Peña-Govea’s brilliant debut novel reveals poetry's unstoppable force." — Dickson Lam, author of Paper Sons
