Module 5: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

a.       Piddy Sanchez is a new girl to the area and quickly bullied by a bad girl in her new school. She is at first clueless but a gossipy young girl fills her in on her transgressions which she obviously has no control over. Piddy tries to ignore her bully but several incidences occur that she cannot turn a blind eye to. After much aggravation, Piddy becomes the unfortunate victim to a physical transgression which leaves her exposed to the cyber world. Yaqui Delgado posts a video of the beatdown to the internet, leaving Piddy literally naked from the waist up, begging for help. Piddy cannot face the student body in part because of her bruised and batter face and also from the video, so she starts skipping school with a bad boy from her local neighborhood who makes her feel good. After many absences, she is forced to attend school or lose an academic year. It is then that her administration finally notices the abuse that Piddy has been experiencing and steps forward. After some coaxing, Piddy tells them what has happened and Yaqui is formally charged. Piddy has the option to leave this high school and takes it.

b.      Medina, M. (2013). Yaqui delgado wants to kick your ass. Somerville: Candlewick Press.

c.       I truly appreciated the story of Piddy and the trauma that bullying places on you. It was realistic and respected te awful situation placed on the victim. Being that I was bullied in school, I respect the considerate and empathetic view placed on a victim of bullying. No pity was given to the bully which is usually the case. Fortunately, Piddy was able to leave the area where her aggressor was powerful although that is not usually the case in real life. This story shows that no matter how much love and support you have at home, what happens at school is just as powerful and can derail even the best of students. Bullying is serious and must be disciplined.

d.      Hutley, K. (2013). Yaqui delgado wants to kick your ass. Booklist, 109(16), 59.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. By Meg Medina. 2013.272p. Candlewick, $ 16.99 (9780763658595). Gr.8-ll. When Piedad "Piddy" Sanchez hears that Yaqui Delgado is going to crush her, she has no idea why she has become a target of one of the roughest girls in her new Queens school. But Yaqui tells everyone Piddy is a skank who shakes her ass when she walks, and as the bullying escalates from threats to physical attacks, Piddy finds herself living in constant fear. A strong student with a bright future at her old school, Piddy starts skipping school, and her grades nosedive. After a truly upsetting attack on Piddy is uploaded to YouTube, she realizes this isn't a problem she can solve on her own. Medina authentically portrays the emotional rigors of bullying through Piddy's growing sense of claustrophobic dread, and even with no shortage of loving, supportive adults on her side, there's no easy solution. With issues of ethnic identity, class conflict, body image, and domestic violence, this could have been an overstuffed problem novel; instead, it transcends with heartfelt, truthful writing that treats the complicated roots of bullying with respect. —Krista Hutley

e.       Piddy’s experience would be best utilized in a book club where students could really analyze her experience and learn from it. Far too many student keep bullying to themselves and put up with abuse. Piddy learns to accept help from her administration which is so important for our students to hear.