A coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won't want to hang up on.
"Brilliant . . . Melissa Mogollon did not come to play."-Kiley Reid New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
"Yes hi Mari. It's me. I'm over my tantrum now and calling you back . . . But first-you have to promise that you won't tell Mom or Abue any of this. Okay? They'll set the house on fire if they find out . . ."
Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky
sarcastic narrator
Luciana
to her older sister
Mari
this wildly inventive debut "jump-starts your heart in the same way it piques your ear" (Xochitl Gonzalez). As the baby of her large Colombian American family
Luciana is usually relegated to the sidelines. But now she finds herself as the only voice of reason in the face of an unexpected crisis: A hurricane is heading straight for Miami
and her eccentric grandmother
Abue
is refusing to evacuate. Abue is so one-of-a-kind she's basically in her own universe
and while she often drives Luciana nuts
they're the only ones who truly understand each other. So when Abue
normally glamorous and full of life
receives a shocking medical diagnosis during the storm
Luciana's world is upended.
When Abue moves into Luciana's bedroom
their complicated bond intensifies. Luciana would rather be skating or sneaking out to meet girls
but Abue's wild demands and unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction for Luciana from her misguided mother
absent sister
and uncertain future. Forced to step into the role of caretaker
translator
and keeper of the devastating family secrets that Abue begins to share
Luciana suddenly finds herself center stage
facing down adulthood-and rising to the occasion.
As Luciana chronicles the events of her disrupted senior year of high school over the phone to Mari
Oye unfolds like the most fascinating and entertaining conversation you've ever eavesdropped on: a rollicking
heartfelt
and utterly unique novel that celebrates the beauty revealed and resilience required when rewriting your own story.
Paylaş