Twelve-year-old Estela Juarez is an old hand at speaking truth to power: In 2018, at the age of 8, she wrote a letter to the president of the United States, admonishing him for the immigration policy that led to the deportation of her mother, Alejandra, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

Juarez’s brave call for her mother’s return went viral, and she was invited to share her family’s story at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Because she raised her voice—with help from many along the way, including President Joe Biden and Florida Congressman Darren Soto—the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted Alejandra permission to return to the United States.

Now that her family is reunited, Juarez is sharing their story in a new picture book, Until Someone Listens: A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl’s Mission, written with Lissette Norman, illustrated by Teresa Martínez (Roaring Brook Press, Sept. 13). Kirkus calls the young author’s lyrical, poignant debut an “inspirational and heartfelt story that will resonate with young activists.”

Juarez spoke with Kirkus from her Florida home via Zoom in late August. The interview has been edited and condensed.

How are you today?

I’m doing well, and yourself?

I’m doing well, thank you for asking. You’re not back to school yet, are you?

Oh yeah, I am. This is my third week of school.

Wow! So you’re an eighth grader and an author—congratulations on your beautiful picture-book debut, Until Someone Listens. What made you want to write a book for young readers?

When my mom first got deported, I tried to search for a book about kids with undocumented parents. I tried to see if anyone had a similar situation. Unfortunately, I never found that book. That’s when I decided that I was going to create one of my own, to bring attention to my family’s story and to try to find a permanent solution to keep my mom in the U.S.

How did the opportunity to write a book arise?

After [national media] showed a video of me writing a letter to the past president—it went viral—they showed another video of me at the National Democratic Convention, reading a letter to the current president, and it went viral. People seemed really interested in what I had to say. And that’s when I was approached [by publishers] with the opportunity to write a book.

How do you write? By hand? On the computer?

When I first started writing, I was actually very young. So I wrote on paper because I didn’t really have access to internet. But now I’m writing on a laptop.

You’ve kept a diary for many years. Do you think that practice helped prepare you for writing your first book?

I definitely think writing in my diary helped me become a better writer. It helped me a lot to put those feelings down, to write the whole experience on paper.

How did you approach finding the right language to tell your story?

My story is a very difficult and serious one. I tried to put it in a way where young readers could understand, because I know that when I first heard that [my mother] was getting deported, I did not understand what it meant. We tried to put it in a beautiful way, so readers can be inspired by it, and I think Lissette [Norman] definitely helped me achieve that. She made the whole experience easier. We tried to find a way to make the story that was true to my experience, and my voice, and I think we achieved it.

I understand the book is being published simultaneously in English and Spanish.

I wanted to give people that didn’t get the opportunity to learn English the opportunity to read my book, because I hope my story can inspire them to share their voice also. I know that it might be more popular in English, because it is going to be published in the U.S., but I hope it is shared with other Spanish-speaking people.

What was it like for you to see Teresa Martínez’s illustrations for the first time?

I think Teresa did a beautiful job with illustrations. When I first looked at the little girl in the book, I thought she looked exactly like me! We were actually sent the illustrations after the book was finished—we were sent the final product.

And what was it like to hold that finished book in your hands?

First of all, it was very overwhelming. I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. And I was—I am so grateful that I get this opportunity to share my message with the world.

You were inspired by John Lewis’ book, March. What do you admire about that book?

John Lewis’ book encourages young readers to fight for equality and to stand up against injustice. As a young man, he fought for civil rights, and he inspired me to share my voice. He showed me that I can change the world even though I’m young. I admire him because overall he’s just a very strong person.

I agree—he’s a hero to me, and I love his books. Do you plan to continue writing in the future?

I’m looking forward to writing more books about my experience as the daughter of an undocumented immigrant. And I hope I can write another book, in the future, about my path to becoming a lawyer. I’m very interested in these topics, in issues of immigration, because of what happened to my mom.

Do you have any words of encouragement for young writers who want to become published authors?

I would say just to keep writing and keep reading, because you can learn a lot from other storytellers.

Once the book is published, how will you share it with your readers? Will you do school visits or events?

I do have multiple book events organized by my publisher, Roaring Brook Press, at Macmillan. And I’m very excited to get to share my book with other readers, and I hope [Lissette and Theresa] are there with me to share this beautiful experience, because they did play a big role in my book.

What else are you most looking forward to when the book comes out?

I am looking forward to seeing other readers getting inspired by my story to share their stories. And I’m looking forward to seeing changes in the broken immigration laws.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about your book?

I hope that this book brings awareness to the broken immigration laws and how they hurt families like mine. My story is one of many.

Editor at large Megan Labrise is the host of the Fully Booked podcast.