Shut Up, This is Serious by Carolina Ixta

ISBN: 9780063287860

Publisher: January 9, 2024 by Quill Tree Books

Genre/format: realistic fiction, contemporary 

Awards: Pura Belpre Award 2025, William C Morris Finalist 2025

Reading level: Grade 9+, School Library Journal 

Plot summary: 

High school senior Belén is trying to have a normal life, but after her father left and her best friend, Leti, became pregnant, normal feels impossible. She loves reading, so much that she skips school to devour novels. But she’s not interested in what her peers are focused on, like college applications. Leti, on the other hand, is still trying to get into UC Berkeley, even as her pregnancy becomes harder to hide from her judgemental parents, who wouldn’t accept Leti’s boyfriend, who is Black. In her efforts to bury the feelings that weigh heavily on her, Belén puts all her effort into helping Leti, trying to find a boyfriend for herself. Ultimately, she can’t hide from her family’s struggles for long, and she has to confront what it means to be her father’s daughter. 

Author background: 

Carolina Ixta was born and raised in Oakland, California, where she still resides. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and holds a Bachelors in Creative Writing and Spanish as well as her Masters in Education. Her experience as a teacher has shaped how she writes teenagers, especially for Shut Up, This Is Serious, which was her debut novel. Ixta has mentioned that her writing comes from a place of frustration with the YA industry’s focus on whiteness, and wants to help resolve that by contributing stories with honest Latina heroines. (Nerd Daily, 2024) By setting her novel in Oakland, Ixta felt that she could write from a place she knew closely and loved. 

Critical evaluation:

Honestly, this book was a hard read. It is, as the title suggests, quite serious. There’s very little room for levity or cathartic release as the reader; I’m not suggesting every book needs this, but it is important to keep in mind going into it. I don’t think the book would be a better experience if it wasn’t as serious, to be clear! I also completely understand and agree with this book being the recipient of a noteworthy award, especially because it expertly navigates the relationship Belén has with her traditionalist/conservative community, and the struggles Mexican families in the US face. Subjects like religion and racism are not shied away from at all, and I think Ixta did a great job with this. 

Belén has a not-quite relationship with an older guy in college, and although you can understand why she views sex the way she does, it is painful to read as an adult. She frequently abandons friends and family in important moments because he texts her, after ignoring her for weeks. They have casual, uninteresting sexual encounters that Belén struggles to justify, even as she tells herself she wants it. By the end of their relationship, I only found myself sighing in relief instead of cheering her on, as she finally stood up to him and left. 

Belén and Leti’s friendship is understandably difficult for them, as they both deal with something the other girl can’t fathom. There’s a lot of in-text emphasis on their differences, both in terms of personality as well as their physical appearances. While physical appearance is important, there’s so much in this book concerned with body image, especially in relation to cultural acceptance (Belén’s body is curvy, therefore she’s bad, in many of the older women’s opinions) I think it was smart of the author to subvert this stereotype by having the (by cultural standards) more introverted and studious character, Leti, be the one with the boyfriend and child. The messaging does feel dated, but for people like Leti and her parents, and the community both girls live in, it’s reality. 

I think this book handled the issue of Leti’s parents really well. They’re not given a redemption solely because they are her parents. They refuse to change, and Leti and her boyfriend make a plan to leave so that their child isn’t subject to colorist and racist comments for its entire life. The decision to cut her parents out of their grandchild’s life is one that ultimately heals generational trauma. Leti’s father in particular is incredibly racist and the book does not view him sympathetically, even while acknowledging the nuance of his hardship in immigrating to the US. The ending felt very drawn out, in my opinion, and I think it could have been about 50 pages shorter. It’s a hard one to recommend, for sure, but I think it’s still very valuable for those who need it.

Creative use for a library program: 

For a novel so set in reality, it’s hard to design a library program that isn’t too on the nose. Instead of using the part of the story focused on teen pregnancy and Belén’s sexuality, I’d want to explore instead how her skills as a writer slowly blossomed throughout. Writing college applications is a side plot of the book, where Belén is placed in classes that just barely prepare students for college by having them write personal statement essays. For teens, the college application process is dreadful and feels awful, especially when personal essays rely on narrating the worst moments of their lives. I think that instead of just hosting a personal statement workshop for an event, it would be an interesting idea to instead have one that focuses on positive life experiences, and has teens brainstorm things that they are passionate about, as an enjoyable writing experience. Writing about yourself is a difficult skill, and when colleges expect you to air out your trauma to get into a school, it becomes a painful chore.

Speed-run book talk: 

Belén’s best friend, Leti, is pregnant. As her closest confidante, Belén is focused on helping Leti through, especially because her parents are definitely not supportive. Belén’s own father recently left her family, and she’s trying to get through her daily life with a heavy weight on her heart. Her mother and sister aren’t much help either– everyone is always telling Belén how similar she is to her father. But this haunts her…do his genes mean that Belén will turn out like him?

Potential challenge issues/defense preparation:

This book contains a lot of subjects that would make it the subject of challenge issues, the most obvious being teenage pregnancy and teenage sex. There really isn’t anything in the text of the book that justifies Leti’s pregnancy or normalizes it, besides Belén mentioning that in their low income school (with limited sex education), there’s usually 4 or so pregnant girls a year. Instead of finding trouble with this and punishing teen pregnancy, it’s important to understand how it can happen as a result of a failed system. Rarely do teens get pregnant because they want to, nor do they have the development to view the future consequences. A book like Shut Up, This Is Serious is an excellent conversation starter, especially between teens and their adults. Parent discretion is likely needed, and understanding their unique reader and what they can handle is important. 

Reason for inclusion:

As the 2025 winner for the Pura Belpre award, I chose Shut Up, This Is Serious to fulfill the award-winning requirement for a future assignment. I wanted something that was grounded in realism and showed modern teenagers doing their best with their circumstances.

References

Creamer, S. (2024, Jan 1). Shut Up, This is Serious. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/review/shut-up-this-is-serious

Dumpleton, E. (2024, Jan 10). Q&A: Carolina Ixta, Author of ‘Shut Up, This Is Serious’. The Nerd Daily. https://thenerddaily.com/carolina-ixta-shut-up-this-is-serious-interview/

Ixta, Carolina. (2026). About. Retrieved from https://www.carolinaixta.com