Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, sexual harassment, racism, and physical abuse.

The narrative begins with a girl named Vanesa telling Piddy that Yaqui Delgado wants to fight her. Piddy is at a new high school and has no idea who Yaqui is. At lunch, another girl, Darlene, fills her in: Yaqui has a history of fighting, and she thinks Piddy is flirting with her boyfriend. Stunned, Piddy has never considered herself attractive. She thinks maybe her mom’s best friend, Lila, is to blame because she bought her bras, showed her how to walk confidently, and taught her how to dance the merengue. Piddy looks across the lunchroom “where the Latin kids sit” (4). Although she identifies with them, none are in her classes, and they glare at her. The lunchroom is divided by racial groups, except for her table, which consists of kids enrolled in challenging academic classes. Along with Darlene, Piddy sits with Rob, a boy who lacks social skills.

When Darlene warns Piddy to stay home from school because “Latin girls” like Yaqui are mean, Piddy says that she is Latina. Internally, she thinks that people like Darlene will never believe that because Piddy’s skin is light, she has no accent, and she gets good grades, defying racist stereotypes.