THE CHISMOSAS ONLY BOOK CLUB

Four friends try to remain close as their freshman year of high school threatens to pull them apart.

Catarina’s parents own a bookstore in Nueva Rosita, New Mexico, that was originally founded (and is currently believed to be haunted) by her great-great-great-grandmother Milagro. Worried she’ll drift apart from best friends Mari, Sofia, and Ana thanks to their different interests, Cat starts the Chismosas Only Book Club the summer before ninth grade. Chismosas means gossips in Spanish, but they only gossip about characters in books. The Mexican American girls use signs they interpret as sent by Milagro to make their reading selections, believing that she’s intentionally picking books that will be personally meaningful to them. Alternating among the four friends’ third-person perspectives, the story thoroughly and realistically fleshes out each girl’s hopes, fears, and heartbreaks. Cat struggles with managing her anger and school theater drama. Sofia’s multiracial family (her father is white) doesn’t know she has a crush on a girl, and her devout Catholic ’wuela disapproves of her “witchy” interests like fortunetelling. Ana is stressed by all the pressure her mother puts on her to work at their restaurant, take care of family members, and succeed at school. Meanwhile, Mari sketches to help cope with worrying about her mother’s kidney disease and a complicated family situation. Readers will root for the girls as they navigate their challenges with heart, determination, and most importantly, each other.

A nuanced and insightful portrayal of young teen friendship.