Listen Now
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: AudiobookHub Recommendation
Chapter 2: — The Cards Fall Hard
Chapter 3: — Ben Hill Enters the Bronx
Chapter 4: — Brave Space, Sharp Edges
Chapter 5: — Evidence in a Brownstone
Chapter 6: — Fuego Chooses Me
Chapter 7: — The Dance, the Stairs, the Call
Chapter 8: — Proof in My Hands
Chapter 9: — The Keys on the Stage
Chapter 10: — Not a Return, an Elevation
Description
The Making of Yolanda la Bruja follows Yolanda “Yoyo” Alvarez, a Dominican teen in the Bronx who’s being trained by her formidable grandmother Mamá Teté in ancestral spiritual practice, tarot, and community protection. Yoyo’s world is anchored by her best friend Victory, the Brave Space Club she leads at school, and the complicated tenderness of her family—especially her father returning from prison.
Then Ben Hill arrives: a wealthy, politically connected transfer student whose presence feels wrong from the start. Yoyo’s visions awaken—sharp, urgent, and terrifying—hinting that Ben’s anger and ideology could spill into deadly harm. As Yoyo tries to balance caution, compassion, and survival, she’s pulled into escalating conflicts: defaced school posters, restorative meetings, threats of retaliation, and the crushing pressure of being believed.
What begins as uneasy tension becomes a race against time, pushing Yoyo through grief, guilt, and initiation into her Unknown, Fuego—forcing her to claim her power, her voice, and the responsibility of protecting her community.
Who Should Listen
- Listeners who want a YA, Bronx-rooted coming-of-power story that blends community activism, cultural specificity, and spiritual tradition.
- Fans of high-stakes school thrillers where the danger escalates through social conflict, ideology, and looming violence.
- Readers drawn to first-person voice, friendship-driven narratives, and stories about grief, survival, and becoming.