ROSA BY ANY OTHER NAME, by Hailey Alcaraz, Viking Books for Young Readers, Aug. 5, 2025, Hardcover, $20.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A Mexican American girl is driven to join a movement for justice after her white classmate and best friend are tragically murdered in Rosa By Any Other Name, by Hailey Alcaraz.
Rosa Capistrano has been attending posh North Phoenix High School to boost her chances of a college education and a career in journalism, thanks to the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education verdict for desegregation. But though she’s legally allowed to be there, it’s still unsafe for Mexican Americans. That’s why she’s secretly passing as Rosie, a white girl. All she has to do to secure her future is make sure her Mexican home life and her white school experience never intersect.
However, Rosa’s two worlds collide when her best friend Ramon and classmate Julianne meet and find themselves entangled in a star-crossed romance. Rosa is terrified about what their relationship could mean for her and them . . . and her worst fears are soon realized in an unspeakable tragedy. Rosa is thrown into the center of a town-wide scandal and her true identity is put in the spotlight. With the help of Marco, Ramon’s brooding and volatile brother whose passion ignites hers, Rosa must choose what is more important to her—protecting her fragile future, or risking everything to help her friends find justice. —Synopsis provided by Viking Books for Young Readers
Set during the Civil Rights era, Rosa By Nay Other Name is a heartfelt and engaging YA novel that explores a piece of US history that is often ignored.
When people talk about Civil Rights era desegregation, they’re most likely talking about Black students, but there’s another group of students who were impacted by Brown v. Board of Education.
Rosa — or Rosie as the white kids at her school call her — is one such student.
Rosa’s skin is light enough that she can pass as white. That means getting a better education, an education that could earn her a place in college. But when her best friends from both worlds fall in love, it becomes a recipe for disaster. And when those friends end up dead, Rosa steps forward to change the narrative.
Rosa By Any Other Name is one of those stories that’s sort of like a car crash — you know something bad is coming, but you can’t look away. And that’s the point. You shouldn’t look away.
Rosa By Any Other Name is a beautiful, heartbreaking story with an element of hope that runs throughout. It’s a smart, thought-provoking read that mirrors what’s happening to the same contemporary communities.
Author Hailey Alcaraz’s text is clear and strong. And additional notes touch on her inspiration and more recent calls for change help put the story into perspective.
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