A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

 

“For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.

Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: Spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.

A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I love this author's first book but her second was even better. Lila’s life has been turned upside down. Her grandmother recently died, her boyfriend of three years dumped her right before prom, and her best friend has decided to take a gap year and spend it as a volunteer in Africa and didn’t tell her. When Lila breaks down over the stress, her parents sent her to England for the summer to spend it with a cousin. This book was phenomenal! Lila doesn't want to leave Miami but it doesn't take long for her to find her place in England and to move forward from past hurts and discovered an unimaginable future. A definite read!

Visit Laura Taylor Namey’s website.

Hope and Other Punchlines by Julie Buxbaum

“Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.

Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing.

Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.

Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?” - taken from Goodreads.com

This is not your usual Julie Buxbaum story. Our main characters, Abbi and Noah, were both affected by the events of September 11, 2001. We immediately know Abbi’s story but slowly discovers Noah’s connection to 9/11 along with abbi. Not an easy subject to read about but the author handles it with the utmost compassion. Readers are left on the edge of their seats to see how Abbi’s story turns out and will be heartbroken along with Noah when he discovers the truth. An excellent book for fans of the author.

Visit Julie Buxbaum’s website.