The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary
Macy’s school officially classifies her as disturbed, but Macy isn’t interested in how others define her.
She’s got more pressing problems: her mom can’t move off the couch, her dad’s in prison, her brother’s been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn’t speaking to her.
Writing in a dictionary format, Macy explains the world in her own terms–complete with gritty characters and outrageous endeavors.
With an honesty that’s both hilarious and fearsome, slowly Macy reveals why she acts out, why she can’t tell her incarcerated father that her mom’s cheating on him, and why her best friend needs protection . . . the kind of protection that involves Macy’s machete.
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Praise for The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary
A 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
A 2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
★ "Ramos is a voice to watch; her exceptional writing and compassionate realism will draw many readers, not just fans of urban fiction." — Booklist, starred review
"These pages vibrate with Macy’s fury, beat with her enormous heart, and take flight. I wanted to burn down the whole damn world and build a new one worthy of her. Instead, I started the book over to witness again the alchemy that turns brokenness into a thing of beauty. Unforgettable." — Ashley Hope Pérez, author of Printz Honoree Out of Darkness and The Knife and the Butterfly
"Nonieqa Ramos’s The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary comes at a relevant time and with a powerful and endearing cast. Macy’s story is necessary and unique, and both she and NoNi present voice and narrative unlike anything we’ve seen before." — Amy Zhang, author of This is Where the World Ends
“Macy Cashmere’s one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred teen memoir will blow your mind and break your heart. Her unforgettable voice is hard-hitting and unflinching, compassionate and streetwise, delivered with a linguistic and structural playfulness that both dazzles the reader and draws them in deep. With The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary, NoNieqa Ramos establishes herself as a literary star on the rise." — David Bowles, author of Chupacabra Vengeance and the Garza Twins series
Interviews & Press
THE HORN BOOK: “Disturbed girls” save themselves (and one another)
FOREWORD REVIEW: Macy’s blunt story is a harrowing, heartbreaking tour de force.
LATINX IN KIDLIT: I Don’t Eat Mangoes or Oye Mi Canto!–Gloria Estefan
SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOKS: Review of TDGD
TOUCH MY SPINE: An Interview with NoNieqa Ramos
MEG MEDINA: An Interview with NoNieqa Ramos
ANN BRADEN: Books that Build Deeper Empathy Around Mental Health
DIY MFA: Crafting Powerful and Authentic Characters
FOREWORD REVIEWS: An Interview with NoNieqa Ramos