With Love, Echo Park

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.