With Love, Echo Park

Starred review from May 20, 2024
Seventeen-year-old Clary Delgado works in La Rosa Blanca, her family’s L.A. flower shop. When Jada Morrison walks into the store and introduces herself as Clary’s half sister, Clary is unsettled—her mother left when she was young, so Clary was raised by her father and her Cuban grandparents. Unsure of what to do when Jada offers to connect her with their mother, Clary focuses on other things. To honor her Cuban heritage, she embarks on a quest to obtain historic recognition for La Rosa Blanca and Avalos Bicycle Works, the last two Cuban-owned businesses in Echo Park. She’s perplexed and annoyed by neighbor Emilio Avalos’s plans to leave L.A. following graduation rather than take over Avalos Bicycle Works. Lately, however, she feels as if their relationship is evolving, especially when Emilio offers to teach Clary to ride a bike. Expertly rendered characters and pitch-perfect interactions coalesce into a touching and emotionally satisfying novel by Namey (A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak) in which a small Cuban community forefronts love, unity, and support to navigate the consequences of secrets and the endless possibilities of the future. Ages 12–up. Agent: Natascha Morris, Tobias Literary.

July 1, 2024
A teen florist in Los Angeles tries to preserve her community's Cuban American heritage amid gentrification and surprise revelations. Seventeen-year-old Clary Delgado is incredibly proud of being part of the historic Latino neighborhood of Echo Park. Raised by her beloved grandparents and single father (Clary's birth mother abandoned her as a newborn), she's grown up in a tight-knit community of Cuban American business owners; her family owns the local flower shop, where she works. The Avalos family owns the neighboring bike shop, where her handsome rival, Emilio, is the heir apparent. Ever since childhood, Clary and Emilio have been trying to "outsmart the other. Or out-annoy." The summer before senior year, three events rock Clary's steady foundations: A wise community patriarch dies, a trendy doughnut shop appears set to take over a recently closed storefront, destroying a historic mural, and someone shows up bearing startling revelations. Namey focuses on Clary's character growth, from loyal and steadfast (but also stubborn and judgmental) to more empathetic, open-minded, and open-hearted. Some minor repetitive elements interfere with the pacing and characterization, but the third act delivers a satisfying blend of romance, social activism, and deep roots. Clary's charming Boricua best friend, Lourdes, has scene-stealing main-character energy. This earnest coming-of-age story is a tribute to family, culture, and resilience. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-18)

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January 17, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Clary, 17, knows that home is where her heart is, and her heart is in Echo Park, Los Angeles, where her grandparents came after leaving Cuba, and where she was raised by her dad and grandparents after her mom left her as a baby. It is where she helps her grandparents run a small flower shop, La Rosa Blanca. Echo Park is family, friends, Cuban culture-and currently facing gentrification. Clary is trying her best to save Echo Park by obtaining historic recognition in order to preserve her neighborhood. Her world takes a sharp turn when her half-sister, Jada-unbeknown to Clary until now-enters the scene and tries to get Clary to meet their mother. Unsettled by all of these changes, Clary wants her small Cuban American community to remain a constant, but new situations emerge, including Emilio, the son of the bike shop owner next door. They go from somewhat rivals to maybe something more. Clary evolves from a high school girl clinging to her hometown and way of life to imagining a world beyond the city's borders. This book is about culture, romance, growing up, and vast horizons. Cuban culture and Spanish are sprinkled throughout, adding dimension and authenticity to the story. The characters' dialogue is charismatic with its banter and teasing nature, while still holding quieter moments and acknowledging the change that is happening to Clary in her perspectives on life. VERDICT A great addition to realistic fiction, this book has equal parts romance and family drama.-Katie Llera

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