Although the Lit. Bar "is technically not open yet," Noelle Santos's bookshop in the Bronx, N.Y., is already "putting community first," according to the headline for Teen Vogue's feature on "a space that not very long ago would have been considered its own kind of fantasy: a place where proud Bronx residents can look at the shelves and see affirmations of themselves and the lives they lead. A place where women of color don't have to leave to thrive or discover new parts of themselves."
"I've had to learn everything along the way," said Santos, adding that the community has had her back throughout the process. "They supported me. Just cheering me on social media. When they see me, they treat me like Beyoncé. It's dope, and it's humbling."
Teen Vogue noted that at a recent author event, "dozens of people--most of them young, black, and Latinx--pack into the Lit. Bar, the Bronx's only general-interest bookstore, to hear [Lilliam] Rivera and fellow YA novelist Jason Reynolds talk about her new book, Dealing in Dreams."
During the conversation, "Rivera is framed by a bookstore that reinforces that message. Thanks to Santos, women and people of color are front and center in this space, each of their stories, histories, and illustrations offering affirmation and discovery. After the talk is over, a line snakes through the store as people wait to pick up their copies of Reynolds's and Rivera's books, the authors engaging in quick conversations as they fold their book covers back and sign them," Teen Vogue wrote.