Few Blue Skies

Ixta (Shut Up, This Is Serious) examines young love, environmental justice, and the cost of integrity in her timely and engaging sophomore novel. High school senior Paloma Vistamontes has felt adrift for more than a year, since her childhood best friend and ex-boyfriend, Julio Ramos, cut contact with her following his father’s death. Paloma’s pa, who worked alongside Julio’s, now leads a strike against their employer, Selva, a distribution center that’s allegedly responsible for San Fermín, Calif.’s, air pollution, the culprit behind Pa’s declining health and Julio’s father’s death. Paloma is shocked when Julio reaches out to enlist her help in researching and writing about the pollution, hoping to use their findings to earn a scholarship to UC Davis, where he intends to study botany and, later, use his education to benefit the community. Their collaboration reignites their relationship; meanwhile, the mayor pushes to build a new Selva facility next to Paloma’s school. Compelling examinations of accountability, activism, financial insecurity, and staying true to one’s principles permeate Paloma’s story, which highlights the characters’ difficulty grappling with their desire to make a difference while finding their place in the world. Layered depictions of the protagonists’ shifting relationship—impacted by their ordeal and conveyed in Paloma’s clever and vulnerable first-person POV—proffer challenging questions about the things one is willing to compromise for both love and justice. An author’s note and bibliography conclude. Ages 14–up. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (Feb.)