Jennifer De Leon and Cloe Axelson discuss Borderless at Belmont Books
When:
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024 6:00p -
7:00p
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024 6:00p -
7:00p
Where:
Belmont Books
79 Leonard St
Belmont, MA 02478
Admission:
FREE
Categories:
Art, Lectures & Conferences
Event website:
https://www.belmontbooks.com/event/jennifer-de-leon-and-cloe-axelson-discuss-borderless
Join Jennifer De Leon in conversation with Cloe Axelson (WBUR) to discuss Borderless, now in paperback!
ABOUT BORDERLESS
Caught in the crosshairs of gang violence, a teen girl and her mother set off on a perilous journey from Guatemala City to the US border in this “engrossing” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult novel from the author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From.
For seventeen-year-old Maya, trashion is her passion, and her talent for making clothing out of unusual objects landed her a scholarship to Guatemala City’s most prestigious design school and a finalist spot in the school’s fashion show. Mamá is her biggest supporter, taking on extra jobs to pay for what the scholarship doesn’t cover, and she might be even more excited than Maya about what the fashion show could do for her future career.
So when Mamá doesn’t come to the show, Maya doesn’t know what to think. But the truth is worse than she could have imagined. The gang threats in their neighborhood have walked in their front door—with a boy Maya considered a friend, or maybe even more, among them. After barely making their escape, Maya and her mom have no choice but to continue their desperate flight all the way through Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of crossing the US border.
They have to cross. They must cross! Can they?
ABOUT JENNIFER DE LEON
Jennifer De Leon is the award-winning author of the YA novels, Borderless, featured on the TODAY show, and Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From. She is also the author of White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, which won the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press. Jenn is the editor of Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education, an International Latino Book Award-winning anthology. As an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University and faculty member in the Creative Writing & Literature Master Program at Harvard University, she has published prose in over a dozen literary journals including Ploughshares, Iowa Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review. She is also a contributor on NPR. Jenn is the founder of Story Bridge, LLC, which aims to bring people together from all walks of life to shape, share, and hear each other’s unique stories. Jenn lives outside the Boston area with her husband and two sons. Connect with her online @jdeleonwriter or www.jenniferdeleonauthor.com.
ABOUT CLOE AXELSON
Cloe Axelson is the senior editor of WBUR’s opinion page, Cognoscenti. She previously worked for several nonprofit organizations, most recently as the director of communications for City Year and Match Education. She’s also worked as a speechwriter at the Democratic National Committee, a ghostwriter for a best-selling self-help author and as a grassroots organizer on political campaigns. Cloe has a M.S. in communication from Boston University and a B.A. in political science from Tufts University. She lives with her husband and their three young daughters near Boston.
