Cuevas, Mayra

Mayra Cuevas is the Puerto Rican-born author of the YA novel Salty, Bitter, Sweet and her short story Resilient was included in the anthology Foreshadow. She is also a producer for CNN and co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival. Does My Body Offend You? (Knopf Books for Young Readers), co-authored with Marie Marquardt, tells the story of Malena Rosario and Ruby McAllister. When Malena – a Puerto Rican girl stuck in Florida after Hurricane María destroyed her home – goes to school bra-less after a bad sunburn and is humiliated by the school administration into covering up, Ruby just can’t keep quiet about it. She’s a Seattle girl with a reputation as the school’s outspoken feminist. Malena and Ruby didn’t expect to be the leaders of a school rebellion, but that’s where they find themselves. Still, they’ll have to face their insecurities, biases, and privileges if they want to stand up for their ideals and – ultimately – themselves.