Libertad -- Bessie Flores Zald Var, Paperback

Now in paperback, a queer YA coming-of-age set during the rigged Honduran presidential election.

* FOUR STARRED REVIEWS*

As the contentious 2017 presidential election looms and protests rage across every corner of the city, life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, churns louder and faster. For her part, high school senior Libertad (Libi) Morazán takes heart in writing political poetry for her anonymous Instagram account and a budding romance with someone new. But things come to a head when Mami sees texts on her phone mentioning a kiss with a girl and Libi discovers her beloved older brother, Maynor, playing a major role in the protests. As Libertad faces the political and social corruption around her, stifling homophobia at home and school, and ramped up threats to her poetry online, she begins dreaming of a future in which she doesn't have to hide who she is or worry about someone she loves losing their life just for speaking up. Then the ultimate tragedy strikes, and leaving her family and friends--plus the only home she's ever known--might be her only option.

Author: Bessie Flores Zald Var
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 09/02/2025
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.19h x 5.43w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780593696149
Age Range: 14-UP

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.9
Point Value: 16
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 553518 / Libertad

About the Author
Bessie Flores Zaldivar (all pronouns) is a queer writer and educator from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They teach fiction at Quinnipiac University and are a Lambda Literary LGBTQ Writer in Schools. Bessie received her MFA in Fiction from Virginia Tech. Libertad is Bessie's debut novel.