What Can(t) Wait

“Another day finished,gracias a Dios.”

Seventeen-year-old Marisa’s mother has been saying this for as long as Marisa can remember. Her parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. An ordinary life—marrying a neighborhood guy, working, having babies—ought to be good enough for her.

Marisa hears something else from her calc teacher. She should study harder, ace the AP test, and get into engineering school in Austin. Some days, it all seems possible. On others, she’s not even sure what she wants.

When her life at home becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere—and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn’t sure what she wants—other than a life where she doesn’t end each day thanking God it’s over.

But some things just can’t wait…

Short-listed for South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award (Young Adult) 2013
Short-listed for Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers 2012
Short-listed for Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Grades 9-12) 2013
Short-listed for Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award 2012

“"The youngest child in a very traditional Hispanic household in Texas, Marisa is expected to work to help support her family, graduate high school, marry, and have babies. But given her talent for math, her teachers have higher expectations; her AP calculus teacher guides her toward an engineering program at a top university, hours from home. As senior year progresses, Marisa finds herself compelled to care for her sadly neglected young niece, a tender romance blossoms with an understanding boy, and the local 'stud' pursues Marisa's best friend, all threatening her dreams. A near-rape and some rough language make this book more appropriate for more mature high school readers. Marisa's gritty, compassionately related story will resonate with teens in immigrant communities. Recommended." --Library Media Connection”

" In a heart-wrenching struggle of friendship, family allegiance, and finding love, Marisa discovers what it truly means to leave the expectations of everyone else behind and become an individual who follows after her hopes and dreams. Her genuinely relatable voice and passion allow readers to grasp for themselves how freeing oneself from the burdens of the world leads to the discovery that 'there’s no magic here. Just my own life.' " --The ALAN Review

Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of award-winning books for young adults, including What Can’t Wait, The Knife and the Butterfly, and Out of Darkness. Out of Darkness was described by The New York Times as a “layered tale of color lines, love and struggle” and was named one of Booklist’s “50 Best YA Books of All Time.” It also won the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award, the 2016 Américas Award, and a 2016 Printz honor for excellence in young adult literature from the American Library Association. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her two beautiful sons, Liam Miguel and Ethan Andrés, Ashley teaches world literature at The Ohio State University. or find her on Twitter and Instagram: @ashleyhopeperez.

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