Lemons and Lies

Gr 9 Up–Castellanos’s latest YA novel is about a teenage girl who not only must figure out friendships and a possible first boyfriend but is also dealing with family drama. Valeria is Cuban American, a high school senior with a twin brother named Adrian. The twins’ mom left two years before to care for their grandmother but never returned. As if this wasn’t enough to deal with, Valeria realizes that she has no friends of her own once Adrian stops speaking to her. Valeria’s grades have slipped and if she doesn’t bring up her math grade, she may fail and not graduate. She enlists the help of Gage, a smart white senior who is competing with Adrian to be valedictorian and is a highly recommended math tutor. The story is well-written, tackling family problems and expectations while also capturing teenage angst. Scenes are set up nicely with detailed descriptions. Some sentences, words, and foods are written in Spanish, but never described in English. This does not cause confusion but instead spotlights a Latinx family that speaks both English and Spanish at home. Character growth is shown throughout the book.