What Can(t) Wait
"Another day finished, gracias a Dios."
Seventeen-year-old Marisa's mother has been saying this for as long as Marisa can remember. Her parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. An ordinary life--marrying a neighborhood guy, working, having babies--ought to be good enough for her.
Marisa hears something else from her calc teacher. She should study harder, ace the AP test, and get into engineering school in Austin. Some days, it all seems possible. On others, she's not even sure what she wants.
When her life at home becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere--and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn't sure what she wants--other than a life where she doesn't end each day thanking God it's over.
But some things just can't wait...
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Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of award-winning books for young adults, including What Can't Wait, The Knife and the Butterfly, and Out of Darkness. Out of Darkness was described by The New York Times as a "layered tale of color lines, love and struggle" and was named one of Booklist's "50 Best YA Books of All Time." It also won the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award, the 2016 Américas Award, and a 2016 Printz honor for excellence in young adult literature from the American Library Association. When she's not writing or hanging out with her two beautiful sons, Liam Miguel and Ethan Andrés, Ashley teaches world literature at The Ohio State University. Visit her online at www.ashleyperez.com or find her on Twitter and Instagram: @ashleyhopeperez.
" In a heart-wrenching struggle of friendship, family allegiance, and finding love, Marisa discovers what it truly means to leave the expectations of everyone else behind and become an individual who follows after her hopes and dreams. Her genuinely relatable voice and passion allow readers to grasp for themselves how freeing oneself from the burdens of the world leads to the discovery that 'there's no magic here. Just my own life.' " --The ALAN Review
-- (11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"Pérez's perspective on Mexican American culture in Texas is authentic; the gritty setting and hard-knocks characters carry the story." --The Horn Book Guide
-- (11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"Marisa's gritty, compassionately related story will resonate with teens in immigrant communities. Recommended." --Library Media Connection
-- (8/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"This strong first novel makes an excellent choice for populations with large numbers of immigrant students." --School Library Journal
-- (5/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"Peréz's debut is a realistic portrayal of challenges faced by immigrant families and conflicting cultural norms, as well as a sensitive exploration of teen pregnancy (Marisa's older sister and Alan's younger sister become pregnant in high school). Strong-willed but emotionally vulnerable, Marisa is aware that pursuing a life that's fulfilling on her own terms comes with a price, and her bittersweet decision leads to an honest and satisfying ending." --Publishers Weekly
-- (4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM)"A timely, realistic and unflinching portrayal of an unfortunately pressing problem for many immigrant teens." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
-- (4/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"Perez breathes credible and engaging life into her calculus-loving protagonist and the assorted adults and youth with whom she copes, on whom she relies, and against whom she battles. As a former teacher, Perez brings authenticity to the Houston high school Marisa attends, and as a product of a similar neighborhood to Marisa's, she paints a complex portrait of the various struggles between generations, languages, and genders that is cogent and natural. Her narrative style is fluid and literary." --VOYA
-- (4/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)"This solid debut deftly explores the daily struggle of some students to persevere in the face of long odds." --Booklist
-- (3/15/2011 12:00:00 AM)"First-time author Pérez fills a hole in YA lit by giving Marisa an authentic voice that smoothly blends Spanish phrases into dialogue and captures the pressures of both Latina life and being caught between two cultures.... Un magnífico debut." --Kirkus Reviews
-- (2/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)
