e-ALC, 10:12:20
Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape (Viking Books for Young Readers)
Read from: August 11-12, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a free e-ALC from the publisher’s app and the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Racism, Police Brutality, Gun Violence, Homophobia, Racial Slurs, Death of a Parent
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Historical Fiction, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Latinx- Mexican), Realistic Fiction, Retellings, YAIn this Romeo and Juliet-inspired retelling set during the civil rights era, a Mexican American girl is driven to join a movement for justice after her white classmate and best friend from the barrio are tragically murdered.
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.
Rosa by Any Other Name is a harrowingly beautiful coming-of-age tale that shines a light on an important and often overlooked facet of US history.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I would normally go the opposite way from historical fiction, but then I saw this also featured Latinx characters AND it was a classic retelling and that was enough for me. And let me tell you, if I had missed this I would have been livid.
Ok so the characters were good, but I just couldn’t relate. The way they met and then immediately fell in love? I was so scared for them, I knew where that was heading. And I especially couldn’t relate to the way they “loved” each other so much they were willing to die for it? Because come on? Rosa warned them something like this would happen. I knew it was coming and I still was terrified for him. I loved Rosa and I really wished she could have gotten through to them. It was such a tragic thing.
I don’t usually navigate toward historical fiction, but there were a few things that called out to me with this one, so I hurried and picked it up. As a Black woman I have mostly looked at social justice and civil rights through the Black lens. I’ve read the court cases and essays etc. But I’ve never really delved into any other minority groups and how they reacted toward things back in the day. And this book brought all of this to light. And for that, I loved this even more. Any time I read a book and can learn something, then I call it amazing. And that’s what this was to me. I went and did a deep dive on what I got from this book and I think that says a lot about what it meant to me.
The romance that wasn’t a romance was ok too. I loved to see them fell into what they were. Them as enemies was the best. He was just so mean for nothing lol And then there was his little nickname for her lol I thought it was cute even though they didn’t like each other. I was disappointed by her parents because they judged him because he wasn’t like his brother. And I was mad af at him because what do you mean you ghosted her after one of the most tragic events in her life so far? But they redeemed themselves by being there for each other when they started taking everyone on. They needed each other after that, and I was glad they had each other. I don’t think they were trauma bonding either. If you paid attention throughout the story you saw it happening from the beginning.
As far as the retelling part of this, at first I was confused. I wasn’t sure where the retelling fell into play. But then I finished it and thought, ok so maybe it was told through the POV of one of the other characters, but nope. Just another love story that wasn’t supposed to be that ended badly. This only made me mad because it’s the thing that made me read this. I’ve read countless Romeo and Juliet retellings, but none that have Latinx characters, so this had the leg up. But in my opinion, it fell short on that side.
This was so freaking good. I do wish I could change some things, but overall, this was amazing. Definitely amazing enough for me to offer this up to my co-workers as one of our picks for Tournament of Books lol I can’t wait to get this in the hands of both my co-workers and the kiddos.
Overall, I give this
