The Truth Is

Named one of the best YA Latinx books of 2019 by Remezcla and HipLatina.

A Bustle Book Club Selection

A powerful exploration of love, identity, and self-worth through the eyes of a fierce, questioning Puerto Rican teen.

Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn't think she has time for love. She's still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But when she meets Danny, a new guy at school—who happens to be trans—all bets are off. Verdad suddenly has to deal with her mother's disapproval of her relationship with Danny as well as her own prejudices and questions about her identity, and Danny himself, who is comfortable in his skin but keeping plenty of other secrets.

In her luminous, raw, and open-hearted exploration of identity, grief and first love, NoNieqa Ramos has created an unforgettable character in Verdad.The Truth Is offers a complex look at a brilliant, queer, neurodifferent girl, the mother who loves but doesn't understand her, and a fabulously drawn group of street kids who can't save themselves but just might save her. A brilliantly written breathtaking book. I couldn't put it down!
—Michelle Ruiz-Keil, author of All of Us with Wings

A brilliant, beautiful, moving story of ecstasy and loss and tragedy and hope, The Truth Is demands to be read. The fast-moving plot bristles with literary and classical references, but the deepest insights—and there are plenty—come from the unforgettable observations and conclusions of its main character, Verdad de la Reyna, an unforgettably brave and complicated heroine who confronts profoundly disturbing, real-world challenges with the help of friends, both present and past. Nonieqa Ramos follows up The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary with another superb novel guaranteed to break the reader's heart before trying to mend it."
—Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick, authors of Snowsisters

NoNieqa Ramos's un-flinching voice and writing style continues to cement her as a force to be reckoned with in the YA world.
—Mia García, author of The Resolutions

“"Fifteen-year-old Verdad is done with friendships. After her best friend, Blanca, died in a mass shooting, she's decided to keep her head down and focus on school, not on making connections. But when Danny comes into her class, she can't help but notice him. As rumors swirl around his gender identity, Verdad begins to break her own rules about getting close and learns what can happen when you're true to yourself in the face of bigotry. Ramos (The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary, 2018) creates an #OwnVoices protagonist in Puerto Rican Verdad and weaves her many intense feelings together in a way that never feels forced, from Verdad dealing with PTSD after the shooting to falling in love to discovering and then defining her queer identity. Her voice, funny through the pain, carries what could have been an impossibly heavy story. A few plot points resolve a little too neatly, but it's nice to see teens who often face unending obstacles, in fiction and real life, get something close to a happy ending."--Booklist”

"[P]ortray[s] the complex lives of young people who grieve but also reclaim hope against so many obstacles."—Lilliam Rivera, author of The Education of Margot Sanchez and Dealing in Dreams

Raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, NoNieqa Ramos is an educator and literary activist. Their work includes the young adult novels The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary and The Truth Is, as well as the picture book Hair Story. They believe Halloween is a lifestyle, not a holiday. If you're in Virginia, you might catch NoNieqa getting motorcycle lessons from their soulmate Michael or going indie bookstore hopping with their preciosos Jandi and Langston. Connect with their works on or on the Latinx collective

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