LOVE IN ENGLISH, the young adult novel by Maria E. Andreu, tells the story of 16-year-old Ana as she integrates into the U.S. in her first year here. It’s a love story and an ode to Spanish and the complexities of learning English. In this video, the author tells a bit about her background and what inspired her to make the first page be Spanish. The first page, translated to English, reads: Your Life Depends on Understanding This (original in English). The Spanish that follows translates into English like this: First, read all the instructions. Don’t forget to reach the end. If “end” (the Spanish word for this is “final”) feels like a word you understand, some kind of clue, you’re mistaken. The instructions are this: hear everyone, learn everything, stay up to date, don’t miss anything. And do it all in a language you don’t understand. Yes? Okay. Let’s begin. Cover design credits: Maja Tomljanovic, Rude and Jenna Stempel-Lobell Balzer + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishing.
For Media mentions of Love in English and other writing, click here.
