NO MORE US FOR YOU

Carlos is obsessed with red licorice candy; Isabel is haunted by the anniversary of her boyfriend’s death. One afternoon the two meet in an art gallery—introduced by Vanessa, a spunky, straight-talking mutual friend—where Carlos works as a security guard. Sparks don’t exactly fly, but there’s enough curiosity to promise the possibility of romance. The pair’s first double date with Vanessa and Carlos’s friend Snake, however, ends in tragedy. At its heart, Hernandez’s second novel is a peculiar one: It’s not exactly a page-turner, but it has enough simple appeal to thrill a broad readership. A complex patchwork of imagery, voices and allusions comes together easily, nearly mirroring one of the collages in the gallery where Carlos works. Death and the fear of it pervade the novel; both Isabel and her parents harbor a near-innate paranoia about their mortality. Meanwhile, hot brushfires scorch the California coast and the novel’s backdrop like a smoky, sunny afternoon in Hell. The smart, sophisticated, yet remarkably accessible writing melds everything together with slow-burn effects, and the characters are dead-on (so to speak). A smoldering read. (Fiction. YA)