Aniana del Mar Jumps In

by Jasminne Mendez

Overview

Pura Belpré Author Honor Award
** Four starred reviews!**

A powerful and expertly told novel in verse about a twelve-year-old Dominican American swimmer who is diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis by an award-winning poet.

Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea. But she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. That is, until the day Ani’s stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. Mami forbids her from returning to the water but Ani and her doctor believe that swimming along with medication will help Ani manage her disease. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be. Aniana Del Mar Jumps In is a poignant story about chronic illness and disability, the secrets between mothers and daughters, the harm we do to the ones we love the most—and all the triumphs, big and small, that keep us afloat.

"Beautiful in its honesty and vulnerability, this is a powerful story about dreams and bodily agency that sings from the heart.”—Natalia Sylvester, award-winning author of Breathe and Count Back From Ten

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593531815
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	239,341
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jasminne Mendez is a best-selling Dominican-American poet, educator, translator, playwright and award winning author of several books for children and adults. She has had poetry and essays published in numerous journals and anthologies and she is the author of two multi-genre collections including Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press, 2013) which won an International Latino Book Award. Her debut poetry collection City Without Altar was a finalist for the Noemi Press poetry prize and was released in August 2022(Noemi Press) and her debut picture book Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Publico Press, 2021) was the Writer’s League of Texas Children’s Book Discovery Prize Winner. She has translated the work of NYT Best Selling authors Amanda Gorman, Nikole Hannah-Jones, René Watson and Calribel Ortega. She is an MFA graduate of the creative writing program at the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University and a University of Houston alumni. She is the Program Director for the literary arts non-profit Tintero Projects and she lives and works in Houston, TX.

Read an Excerpt

Prologue

When I Learned to Swim

Before my brother, Matti, is born

before I learn how to keep secrets,

before I learn what my name means and how it ties me to the water,

Papi teaches me how to swim.

Mami is away in the Dominican Republic visiting family and friends she hasn’t seen in years.

I am six and still afraid of everything.

Papi knows Mami won’t like it.
But he decides it’s time for me to learn.
The First Time

I tremble near the edge of a pool.

My knees KnOcK
                       kNoCk
                                KnOcK
against each other.

A warm August wind w h o o s h e s through my tangled curls,

I almost let go of my Minnie
Mouse towel when––

Papi nudges me a little closer to the edge.

I                  jUmP                  back as if the pool is a sinkhole of blue flames.

I squeal 
a high-pitched trumpet tingling my tonsils:

No,
              no,
                  no!
I don’t want the water
              in my eyes
                                      in my nose
                                                              in my lungs.
Mami says that the water . . .

Sssh mi reina, no pasa nada.

Papi sits me on his lap, 
tells me a cuento para calmarme.

Papi: The first time I swam
in the green rivers of el campo,

the current slapped me around
until my arms began to flip

and my legs began to flap
and suddenly I was flying underwater.

Your body will know
how to handle the water

as long as you don’t resist it.
Jumping In

Papi’s big brown arms wrap around my waist.

His warm breath tickles my ear and his black beard sweeps against my cheek.

Papi whispers: 
Concentrate––

Reach your arms out, then pull
them apart as if you are parting
the purple curtains in your room.

Kick your legs like a drummer’s hands
when they paddle their palms
on a Palo drum.

Imagine your body is a feather
and you’ll float. Let the water hold
you. Remember, yo estoy aquí.

He squeezes my hand.

1
      2    
            3!
                   We jump in.




The Island (& Me): May

My Island

We live on an                        island.
The island where we live is an o u t s t r e t c h e d      arm      reaching into the Gulf of Mexico.

Galveston:

Where the streets are lined with papel picado houses in peacock green and 
pomegranate pink.

Hundreds of shotgun houses where the wind whistles 
in through the front door and shoots directly down the hallways out the back.

Hundreds of houses 
in sherbet colors that remind Mami 
of “back home.” 

But this is the only home
I’ve ever known.

On Sundays before church, 
I like to walk to the seawall,
alone,
and watch the sunrise explode in the sky like cascarones on Easter. 

Blue, pink, and orange colors confetti the horizon and kiss the sea.

Sometimes, I don’t know if the ocean is the sky or the sky is the ocean. 

It opens
                  BIG
                              W I D E 
                                                 E  N  D  L  E  S  S.

The way I do when I swim.

Sometimes, I think that if
I swim long enough 
I’ll reach that cascarón sky and instead of swimming
I’ll begin to S O A R.


Wants Me Close

Some Sundays after church, Mami,
Matti, and me 
go to the beach.

Sometimes I build sandcastles with Matti.

Sometimes, if Papi is with us and goes 
in the water with me, 
Mami lets me                  S W I M.

Mami doesn’t like it that I swim underwater so far away from her.

I try to tell her:

Papi taught me
how to hold my breath,
stroke my arms,
and kick my fins,
like a dolphin.
I’ll be fine.

Still––

shewantsmeclose.

She’s afraid la mar will swallow me up the way it swallowed 
her brother her house and 
her village during a storm long ago when she was just a girl.

Mami calls the ocean
“la mar” instead of “el mar”
because she believes 
the ocean is a strong woman who gives and takes life when she wants.

The ocean will betray you
she says. 

I try to tell her: 

I am Ani
de las aguas
I swim
with the dolphins.
The water and I
protect each other.
She won’t take me
away from you.

Still––

shewantsmeclose. 


Birth Story

Mami says when I was born,
I almost drowned in the ocean of her belly and they had to C U T me      out.

I was not ready 
for the world, 
               would not latch,
                                       would not eat, 
                                                               would not stop crying.

So they slipped tubes through my nose and fed me food that was not Mami’s milk.

Mami says this made her worry we would not bond 
and I would not have enough of what I needed to grow big and strong. 

And sometimes I worry 
she was right.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/30/2023

In Galveston, Tex., 12-year-old Aniana del Mar loves to swim: “All I want/ is to/ slip/ slide/ drift/ glide.” During daddy-daughter dates, she and Papi head to the YMCA for swim practice and meets, but the two keep these events secret from Mami, who still grieves losing “her brother/ her house and/ her village” as a child during Hurricane Georges, and regularly fears the worst for her family. But everything comes crashing down when Ani’s occasional post-exercise aches and swelling intensify into chronic pain, “statue-stiff/ mornings and clumsy/ collapses,” and a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Religious Mami believes that God is punishing Ani for keeping secrets and lies with her father, and, in spite of the physical therapist’s recommendation otherwise, bans all swimming. Ani meanwhile feels abandoned by Papi, who’s frequently away working for the Coast Guard. Via myriad poetic forms and sensorial verse, Mendez viscerally details the emotional family tumult of grief, mistrust, and resentment alongside Ani’s heartfelt quest to reunite with water. Back matter details poetic forms used and notes that Mendez, like Aniana, is Dominican American and lives with chronic illness and disability. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 03/01/2023

Gr 5–9—Acclaimed Dominican American poet Mendez's novel in verse centers around the coming-of-age struggles of a Latinx tween pushing against the expectations of a strict (and loving) family, while also figuring out her identity as an athlete with chronic illness. Aniana and Papi keep a secret from conservative Mami—instead of attending church on weekdays, the pair go to the YMCA where Ani is excelling at swimming. When the Afro-Dominican girl can barely get out of bed because of pain in her body, their secret is out, and Aniana is diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Convinced it's a punishment from God for lying, Mami forbids her from swimming. When Papi is away because of his work with the Coast Guard, Ani begins to pull away from him, too. Mendez never passes judgment on Ani's parents. Her mother's fears come from the traumatic death of Mami's twin brother during a hurricane, and she found comfort in religion during a bout of postpartum depression. A near-tragedy finally unites them, and the realistic conclusion will satisfy readers. Multidimensional characters and the time-honored conflict between daughters and their mothers will ring true. Spanish and English are often used interchangeably in Ani's conversations with her parents, and details about the Dominican Republic further add authenticity to the work. Mendez uses concrete poems, haiku, and tanka throughout to narrate this accessible story of forgiveness. VERDICT The nuanced depiction of disability, intergenerational conflict, and family trauma make this a must-have for all middle grade shelves.—Shelley M. Diaz

School Library Journal

★ 2022-12-24
A talented Dominican American swimmer fights to keep doing what she loves.

Twelve-year-old Aniana del Mar lives up to her name: Living on the island of Galveston, Texas, the water feels like home. But that’s a secret she keeps with her easygoing Papi, who sneaks her to the YMCA for swim practice and meets. Mami discourages Ani from swimming; after witnessing her own brother’s drowning during a hurricane, Mami is terrified of losing Ani and her 4-year-old brother, Matti, too. When Ani can no longer hide the joint swelling that plagues her when she overexerts herself, however, her secret’s out. Mami, who belongs to a strict Christian church, is furious, insisting that Ani’s juvenile idiopathic arthritis is God’s punishment for lying. Though Ani’s physical therapist endorses swimming, Mami bans Ani from the water she craves. As her family’s bonds fray, Ani grapples with the challenges of invisible illness, including loss of bodily autonomy and others’ lack of understanding. Incorporating concrete poems, haiku, and tanka, Ani’s aching, determined verse narration weaves English and Spanish words into striking imagery as she navigates tumultuous emotions and her loving but stifling relationship with Mami. Mendez, also disabled and Dominican American, explores post-traumatic stress and its effects with both compassion and honesty, respecting Mami’s trauma without diminishing the pain her overprotectiveness causes Ani. Religious belief is similarly represented with nuance. Supportive, diverse secondary characters add warmth.

A painful yet hopeful exploration of family, trauma, faith, and healing. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews

Pura Belpré Author Honor Award
New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year 
NCTE Notable Poetry Book and Verse Novel Selection
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Kirkus Best Book of the Year
ALSC 2024 Notable Children’s Books
USBBY 2023 Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities!

★ “Ani’s aching, determined verse narration weaves English and Spanish words into striking imagery as she navigates tumultuous emotions and her loving but stifling relationship with Mami. Mendez, also disabled and Dominican American, explores post-traumatic stress and its effects with both compassion and honesty, respecting Mami’s trauma without diminishing the pain her overprotectiveness causes Ani. Religious belief is similarly represented with nuance. . . . A painful yet hopeful exploration of family, trauma, faith, and healing.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
 
★ “Via myriad poetic forms and sensorial verse, Mendez viscerally details the emotional family tumult of grief, mistrust, and resentment alongside Ani’s heartfelt quest to reunite with water.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
★ “The nuanced depiction of disability, intergenerational conflict, and family trauma make this a must-have for all middle grade shelves.”—School Library Journal, starred review
 
★ “Mendez’s novel beautifully crafts a first-person narrative with concrete poetry, forming shapes of teardrops, sea creatures, and storms to capture the physical and emotional journey of Aniana’s desire to return to the water and navigate her newly diagnosed disability. Stanzas with English and Spanish dialogue, repetition, and spacing visually add to the tension and distance Aniana experiences with her family and friends.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

“Aniana del Mar Jumps In is a story of love, loss, and growth that explores how our actions can unintentionally harm those who we love, how we learn to heal from that pain, and how we grieve not only those who we’ve lost but the people we once were, as well as embracing who we are becoming.”—Booklist

“Aniana del Mar Jumps in is about trusting our own bodies when they tell us what they can and cannot do, trusting our own hearts when they point the way, and trusting one another when we say who we are and what we need. Jasminne Mendez uses multiple poetic forms and deft lyricism to explore the knotty intaglios of family and community, guiding readers through multiple emotional storms to a rousing, heart-warming conclusion.”—David Bowles, award-winning author of They Call Me Güero

“Reading this made me feel like I have been holding my breath without knowing it. This book made me exhale. Similarly, I know that so many young people will see themselves in this book, exhale and say FINALLY. Such an important book.”—Elisabet Velasquez, award-winning author of When We Make It

“I both cried and rooted for Aniana as she navigates the new realities of her body and journeys to protect the parts of her that, even in illness, are fully hers to claim. Beautiful in its honesty and vulnerability, this is a powerful story about dreams and bodily agency that sings from the heart.”—Natalia Sylvester, award-winning author of Breathe and Count Back From Ten

From the Publisher

Jasminne Mendez delivers her novel-in-verse with the affinity of an author turned narrator, embracing the line breaks and Spanish phrases that make her poetic writing even more lyrical. Mendez reveals the deep feelings of 12-year-old Aniana del Mar, a Dominican American who adores being in the water as much as she loves the parents who nurture her. Mendez helps listeners picture Aniana's protective Mami, who fears the water, and her Papi, who aids Aniana's passion for swimming. Mendez sensitively depicts Aniana's growing discomfort with the two secrets she is keeping: her swimming and the mysterious pain she is suffering. Admitting her suffering leads to a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis that brings new losses, grief, and family upsets, but healing begins with understanding. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

Jasminne Mendez delivers her novel-in-verse with the affinity of an author turned narrator, embracing the line breaks and Spanish phrases that make her poetic writing even more lyrical. Mendez reveals the deep feelings of 12-year-old Aniana del Mar, a Dominican American who adores being in the water as much as she loves the parents who nurture her. Mendez helps listeners picture Aniana's protective Mami, who fears the water, and her Papi, who aids Aniana's passion for swimming. Mendez sensitively depicts Aniana's growing discomfort with the two secrets she is keeping: her swimming and the mysterious pain she is suffering. Admitting her suffering leads to a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis that brings new losses, grief, and family upsets, but healing begins with understanding. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile