Just Say Yes

By: Goldy Moldavsky

Narrated by: Brenda Arteaga-Walsh

Jimena Ramos had no idea she was undocumented.

Now she’s seventeen, and she needs to figure out a way to stay in New York City, the only home she can remember. There’s only one possibility that will get her a green card quickly enough: Jimena is going to find an American to marry her.

She’s got one excellent candidate: Vitaly, her next-door neighbor and friend, the only person she trusts with her secret. But Vitaly’s got his own plans for the future. He’s a definite no.

So Jimena tries online dating. She decides to approach this marriage like a business transaction. She figures out a plan that just might save her and make her a citizen at last.

But of course, she can’t stop thinking about Vitaly.

Such a passionate story

When she unexpectedly finds out from her mother that the two of them are undocumented, Jimmena's world crumbles around her. She's lived in New York most of her life, if she gets deported, she wouldn't have anywhere to go. Out of all the avenues to go about becoming legal, Jimmena decides that a green card marriage is the best and fastest way to do it. She goes on many unsuccessful dates, until she finds a guy willing to help her. The only problem is Jimmena is in love with another guy, and he has his own plans for the future.

This story a rollercoaster of sadness, heartbreak, comedy, friendship, and love. It's set in 2007, so it was a ride down nostalgia lane for me as a millennial.