At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom

by Erin Entrada Kelly

Overview

World War II spy, Filipino guerrilla fighter, war hero, Medal of Freedom recipient, leprosy survivor, teacher, peacemaker . . . The legendary and inspiring life and work of Josefina “Joey” Guerrero is introduced to readers by two-time Newbery Medal winner, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly. For fans of Steve Sheinkin and Candace Fleming.

Joey Guerrero, a native of the Philippines, was diagnosed with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) as World War II unfolded in Europe and Asia. Soon after the Japanese occupied the Philippines, Joey—believing she would die soon—joined the guerrilla movement to complete covert missions in support of the Allies. Because of her condition, she was rarely searched by Japanese soldiers, which allowed her to courier secret messages, including an invaluable minefield map that she taped to her back. She was eventually awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and admitted to the National Leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana, where she lived for nine years. When she was cured and released, she found it difficult to find work because of racial discrimination and her health history and was forced to pawn her Presidential Medal to make ends meet. Eventually, she shed her previous identity. When she died in 1996, her obituary identified her as a secretary from Manila. But Joey Guerrero was much more than that—she was a hero who changed the course of history.

Erin Entrada Kelly’s engaging nonfiction debut combines themes of the Philippines, World War II, the Asia-Pacific War, spy stories, Louisiana, immigration, disease and medicine, racism, perseverance, religious devotion, and hope. Illustrated with photographs, maps, and other illustrative material and featuring sidebars that clearly illuminate key moments in history, At Last She Stood is for readers and educators who love Candace Fleming, Deborah Heiligman, Christina Soontornvat, and Steve Sheinkin. Includes an author’s note, source notes, index, and other back matter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063218925
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, which was also named a finalist for the National Book Award. She received a Newbery Honor for her acclaimed novel We Dream of Space. Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA in writing for children and young adults program at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press.

Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, an Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; and five popular novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, Surely Surely Marisol Rainey, Only Only Marisol Rainey, Your Turn Marisol Rainey, and Felix Powell, Boy Dog, which she also illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

02/17/2025

Kelly (On Again, Awkward Again) excavates the life of a brave, little-known Filipina who helped the Allied Forces win WWII while living with Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. As a devout nine-year-old Catholic in Lucban, Josefina Veluya (1917–1996) pretends she’s Joan of Arc, and wonders, “What would it be like to be a tiny girl in a giant war, surrounded by people who underestimated you?” At 16, orphaned following her parents’ deaths, Veluya develops tuberculosis and winds up in Manila for treatment; cured, she later meets and marries medical student Renato Guerrero. In 1941, her chronic fever, skin lesions, and joint pains are diagnosed as leprosy. As Japanese forces invade the Philippines, she becomes involved in the guerrilla movement, first spying on Japanese soldiers, then carrying a critical map 40 miles through Japanese military checkpoints to aid in liberating war prisoners. Though details of the subject’s childhood are slim, Kelly recreates vivid moments throughout Veluya’s life, interspersing historical context surrounding key figures, leprosy treatment, and Filipino history. The result is a handy primer for those interested in the period, and a bolstering entreaty for readers to seek out more information. Ages 8–12. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Kelly excavates the life of a brave, little-known Filipina who helped the Allied Forces win WWII while living with Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. . . . Kelly recreates vivid moments throughout [Joey Guerrero’s] life, interspersing historical context surrounding key figures, leprosy treatment, and Filipino history. The result is a handy primer for those interested in the period, and a bolstering entreaty for readers to seek out more information.” — Publishers Weekly

At Last She Stood tells Guerrero's story with compassion and respect, and enables the young audience to appreciate the incredible depth of her courage and resilience. . . . [It] gives a remarkable woman the respect and recognition she deserves.  — Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher