I Will Save You

Matt de la Peña is an award-winning author of young adult novels and children’s picture books, as well as short stories and essays appearing in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Writer, TIME Magazine and more. Many of his YA novels were named to the ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults or Reluctant Readers and a variety of other teen reading lists.

His debut novel, Ball Don’t Lie (2005) was made into a movie. His picture book Last Stop on Market Street (2015) garnered the 2016 Newberry Medal. The same year, the National Council of Teachers of English granted de la Peña the Intellectual Freedom Award.

De la Peña prioritizes writing about diverse youth encountering hardships due to race and class. He uses personal experiences as fodder for his work, noting: “I’m a mixed person. I’m as white as I am Mexican. But I’m also as Mexican as I am white. This puts me in an interesting place in the call for more diversity in books for young people. I feel like I have a good vantage point” (Bartel, Julie. “One Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with Matt de la Peña.” The Hub, 6 Aug. 2015). His young adult novel Mexican WhiteBoy (2008) centers on the questions a youth of mixed-race faces.

Not all of de la Peña’s texts focus on race. He also draws on his childhood in poverty. I Will Save You includes characters, like Kidd, who grapple with how to navigate the world with less. One of Kidd’s internal battles is his struggle to reconcile his anger at the privilege and power of the wealthy with his connection to Olivia, who comes from an affluent family. In portraying this conflict de la Peña notes that “kids growing up in difficult circumstances are beautiful and worthy, too. Even when they’re messing up” (Bartel). I Will Save You spotlights the difficult journey Kidd takes to recognize that his life is meaningful.