Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship
by Veronica Chambers (Author) Sujean Rim (Illustrator)
From an NYT bestselling author comes the first in an illustrated middle grade series about a Panamanian American girl who uses humor and a little mischief to navigate her best friend moving away and her sister's overbearing and all-consuming quince preparations.
Flora Violeta LeFevre, aka Flora "la Fresca" (so called because she tells it like it is, occasionally to her parents' chagrin) can always count on her best friend Clara Ocampo Londra to turn anything-from a day at the skate park to dreaded Saturday Spanish school into an exciting adventure.
But amidst Flora's personal nightmare that is her sister Maylin's never-ending dress try-ons and dance practices for her upcoming quinceañera, news breaks that Clara's moving, and Flora doesn't know how she'll survive without her. The girls quickly roll up their sleeves and use their larger-than-life imaginations to make the most of each passing day together.
But things get complicated when Clara moves and starts making new friends, an unlikely alliance blossoms between Flora and a new student, and preparations for Maylin's quince take a disastrous (but hilarious) turn.
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Afro-Panamanian American 10-year-old Flora Violeta LeFevre and her Argentinian American BFF Clara Ocampo Londra have experienced everything together, including agonizing Saturday Spanish lessons and daring adventures at the local skate park. So Flora is devastated when Clara has to move from their Rhode Island hometown to California because of Clara's mother's new job. As the besties lament Clara's impending move, they hang out as much as they can and create, using coding tool Scratch, a BFF-ometer test to help them make new friends. While Clara seems to immediately find a new friend group, Flora can't imagine anyone replacing Clara. It's even difficult to connect with her sister Maylin, who's too preoccupied with planning her quinceañera to offer Flora comfort. But when Lebanese new student Zaidee Khal arrives from Paris, Flora begins to believe that maybe she won't feel lonely forever. Pencil-like b&w sketches from Rim (Take a Chance) pepper vivacious prose by Chamber (Finish the Fight!), punctuating Flora's moments of elation and sorrow as she works to navigate her shifting relationships. Realistic familial dynamics and a fair amount of tween antics from Flora and company add verve to this warm friendship story. Ages 8-12. (July)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
The girls' friendship is full of inside jokes and heartwarming anecdotes, and both pals are realistic modern tweens, writing code in Scratch, practicing TikTok dances, and skateboarding. The mix of Spanish and English dialogue between the friends shows their growing Spanish language skills, and their relationships with their Latinx mothers deftly convey the parent/child dynamic of second-generation kids trying to honor their heritage. Having a close friend move away in childhood is a common theme in middle grade and YA lit, and Chambers' compassionate look at Clara and Flora's relationship may make the journey more bearable for those facing a similar scenario. —BCCB
Chambers places universal friendship trials within the specific joy and beauty of an Afro-Panamanian family, capturing the deep, intense emotions of childhood bonds. Rim's delightful illustrations punctuate the text and capture the mood of the characters' journeys. . . . Funny, heartwarming, and sweet. - Kirkus
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
Family life
Panamanian Americans
