Jennifer De Leon

Jennifer De Leon writes fiction and essays about culture, race, migration, and the pressure to explain where one belongs; she also works as an educator and speaker. Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From follows Liliana Cruz as a school integration program takes her from her Boston neighborhood to a wealthier suburban high school. She initially tries to keep parts of her family life and identity separate from the expectations of her new classmates, but events at school and questions surrounding her absent father make that separation harder to sustain. Atheneum published the novel for teen readers, which became a Read with Jenna Jr. selection. De Leon later wrote Borderless and the essay collection White Space, and she founded Story Bridge to support community storytelling.