In this sequel to Flora la Fresca & the Art of Friendship (2023), Flora is determined to become a millionaire.
Flora Violeta LeFevre, affectionately nicknamed Flora la Fresca, is entering sixth grade with big dreams. Superstar singer-songwriter Pilar Velez has bought an $18,000,000 home in their small coastal Rhode Island town of Westerly. Flora believes becoming a millionaire like Pilar would solve all her problems—first and foremost, it would allow her to buy a plane ticket to spend July in California with Argentinian American Clara, the BFF she desperately misses. Fortunately, a school project on entrepreneurship might offer her the first step to millionaire status: Students will work in small teams to plan and launch their own businesses. Flora and her friends Zaidee, Aidan, and Aditya form a group, working together to sell Flora’s abuela’s thick, fragrant Aztec hot chocolate. With her summer dreams riding on her business, X is for Xocoatl, Flora has no choice but to succeed. Chambers returns with another lighthearted adventure centering on a Panamanian American girl, her family, and her diverse group of friends. Rim’s delightful black-and-white illustrations capture the optimistic energy flowing through each page. Flora’s determination, excitement, and humor are endearing and relatable, and her story will appeal to fans of Sundee Frazier’s Cleo Edison Oliver series and Hena Khan’s Zara Rules books.
A slice-of-life story that’s rich in heart.
(Fiction. 8-12)