Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (2013) is a young adult realistic fiction novel by Meg Medina that follows protagonist Piedad (Piddy) Sanchez through 10th grade as she grapples with a new school, being bullied, and life without a father. Winner of the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, this text explores themes of The Impact of Bullying on Mental Health, Community as a Support System, and The Difficulties of Standing Up Against Injustice.

This guide refers to the 2013 Candlewick Press print edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, racism, sexual harassment, physical abuse, antigay bias, and mental illness.

Plot Summary

At her new school, someone tells the narrator and protagonist Piedad (Piddy) Sanchez that “Yaqui Delgado wants to kick [her] ass” (1). Confused because she has no idea who Yaqui is, Piddy discovers from a classmate, Darlene, that Yaqui, who was previously suspended for fighting, thinks Piddy is flirting with her boyfriend. This adds to Piddy’s problems; her mother recently relocated them to a new apartment, tearing Piddy away from a school she enjoyed and old friends. Her best friend, Mitzi Ortega, also moved away to Long Island. Piddy clings to her elephant charm necklace as a source of comfort because it invokes happy memories and her dream of working with elephants.

After figuring out Yaqui’s identity, Piddy becomes the target of bullying. First, Yaqui hurls a carton of chocolate milk at her in the lunchroom. Then, Yaqui snatches Piddy’s beloved necklace right off her neck. All this impacts Piddy—she lacks focus on classwork, dreads attending school, and is constantly on high alert. Not wanting to make herself more of a target, she cannot advocate for herself. Piddy does, however, take action to protect Rob, a socially awkward classmate, who is the target of antigay graffiti. Her defense of him, though, lands her in a Saturday detention and on the radar of Mr. Flatwell, the dean of student discipline.

Meanwhile, Piddy desperately tries to connect with Mitzi, but she is busy with her new life on Long Island. At home, Piddy withdraws angrily from her mother, Clara. They fight about Piddy’s dropping grades, moodiness, and desire to know more about her father, Agustín Sanchez. Piddy storms away from her multiple times, often returning to their old apartment building to see Lila, her mother’s best friend who is like family. One of these times, she runs into Joey Halper, a former neighbor who has been hardened by witnessing his father abuse his mother. Piddy and Joey reconnect and are physically attracted to each other. The only other place Piddy feels safe is when she is working at Salón Corazón with Lila.

Piddy retreats into herself after she learns that Agustín was married when he met Clara and overwhelmed with fear of Yaqui. The safety net of the salon is ruined one Saturday when Yaqui’s friends show up outside and demand that Piddy fight Yaqui that night. Piddy does not show up but instead goes home and plucks her eyebrows to look tougher. Yaqui catches up to her on a Friday afternoon, attacking Piddy outside her home. Her neighbor and bystanders just watch as Yaqui’s friends film the attack, which leaves Piddy badly bruised and half-naked. Once alone, Piddy calls Lila in a panic, and she arrives to care for her, promising not to tell Clara what happened. Meanwhile, the bullies post the video online.

Feeling like her old self is dead, Piddy hides at home, skipping school without her mother’s knowledge, traveling the city with Joey, and begging Darlene to cover for her at school. Joey is shocked when he discovers how badly she has been attacked. When Piddy apologizes, he demands that she never say those words again. During her time away from school, Piddy treks to Long Island to spy on Mitzi’s new life. Despite this, she avoids all texts with her old friend. When Clara discovers that her daughter has been truant, she is irate, and again, Piddy storms out. She traverses the city all day, only to have Lila’s boyfriend, a police officer who Lila called for help, bring her home.

That night, Piddy waits until it is late to emerge from her bedroom. Clara is waiting up for her and urges her to listen, not about school or Piddy but about Agustín. She confesses that she did not know he was married and that he left her alone and pregnant. Clara destroyed all evidence of him except one photo, which is taped to the inside of the piano he once gave her. She shows Piddy this picture, and, telling her daughter that she does not deserve a father like this, asks Piddy who she wants to be.

The next week, Lila escorts Piddy to school, and Piddy learns that someone anonymously reported the bullying to the school administration. Although scared, Piddy confesses everything to Mr. Flatwell and even confronts Yaqui in his office with the video of the fight. That same day, Piddy visits Mitzi and tells her everything; later, they meet Clara and Lila at the salon, and Piddy finally confesses to her mother. The next day Piddy, Clara, and Lila meet with Mr. Flatwell. Piddy decides that she wants a safety transfer to her old school and that she wants to apply to McCleary, a science magnet high school for junior year. The transfer is approved, and she gets accepted to McCleary. Although Piddy still struggles with trauma from Yaqui, she regains joy in her life and repairs her relationship with her mother.