Bookishrealm's Reviews > Shut Up, This Is Serious

Whew! This book was tougher than I thought it would be! CW: colorism, racism, teen pregnancy, parental neglect, verbal abuse, mental/emotional abuse, body shaming.

Shut Up, This Is Serious is a YA realistic fiction book that packs a hell of punch in unexpected ways. It follows main character Belén who is juggling the absence of her father as well as the pregnancy of her best friend Leti. As Belén attempts to help Leti deal with the experience of not only being pregnant, but also helping Leti tell her parents that the baby's father is black, she struggles with keeping up with academic expectations that will determine whether she graduates high school. Emotional and well developed, this book is a sweet, yet hard coming of age story.

What Worked: I absolutely adored the relationship between Leti and Belén. It evolves in so many different ways. Although it appears that Leti is dependent upon Belén due to her pregnancy, it eventually felt as though Belén began to need Leti more to add some sense of stability to her life. They love each other deeply and it's clear that Leti wants Belén to make smart decisions that prevents her from sharing Leti's experiences. Ixta does such a wonderful job illustrating the impact of parental abandonment whether it is physical or emotional. After her father leaves, Belén begins to perceive her mother's mental and emotional absence as abandonment as well. It sends her on a whirlwind of a spiral that Ixta beautifully addresses with the incorporation of decisions related to mental health and therapy. It's not an easy read and definitely made me emotional at times especially those moments when Belén finds herself in a physical relationship with someone who doesn't value her as a person. The robust discussions related to racism, colorism, as well as the hyper-sexualization of Black and Brown girls only elevated my reading experience of this novel. Ixta handles these topics in a realistic manner, but with care and in a way that teen readers will connect to.

Overall, this was a beautiful, engaging novel that beautifully incorporates important topics and teen experiences. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out more books from this author.