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In her latest novel, Pura Belpré Award–winning author Carolina Ixta weaves a tender story about love and hope, following a teen as she works to protect her family and community from a major corporation taking over her town.
Paloma Vistamontes is heartbroken. A year ago, her ex-boyfriend, Julio Ramos, broke up with her after his father's death, a tragedy that drove Paloma and him apart. Ever since then, the mountains have felt flatter, the sky farther away.
Now, her hometown of San Fermín, a place where honest people work on farms and in factories, is in danger. Selva, a massive e-commerce conglomerate, threatens to open one of their warehouses beside her high school.
This isn't the first time they've done this. Since Selva arrived, they've opened warehouses everywhere where there used to be green spaces. Because of them, the air pollution is so bad that school is often canceled. Many people, including Paloma's ever-practical Ma, want to leave.
But Paloma wants nothing more than to stay. Because when the smog clears, there is still hope. That hope drives Paloma to reconnect with Julio to expose and challenge the dangers that Selva introduces to communities like their own. Can they stop Selva from destroying everything they know? Is there still a chance for their budding romance?
"Clever and vulnerable...Ixta examines young love, environmental justice, and the cost of integrity in her timely and engaging sophomore novel. 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." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] nuanced and deftly woven story that will inspire readers to examine their own
moral compasses. Strong writing and a layered, evocative exploration of hope make this a standout." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Brilliantly crafted with narrative echoes of itself, Ixta's sophomore work asks difficult questions about scales of social justice and loyalty to one's own morals." —Booklist
"Paloma embodies courage and love...Ixta weaves visuals that aptly capture the colors and feelings sensed by Paloma, and the delicious vocabulary elevates the reading to an aesthetic experience. This book viscerally encourages teens to recognize that despite ongoing political and environmental challenges, healing from trauma is essential for empowerment." —School Library Journal
"Through a wholly drawn narrator and her signature gorgeous prose, Carolina Ixta has crafted both a searing commentary on the human toll of corporate greed and a tender story of a girl navigating first love, family, and an uncertain future. Few Blue Skies is one of those books that reminds me why I love YA. Ixta avoids easy answers and instead offers a blueprint to readers on what it means to ask questions, to find community, to be an advocate—and, above all, to hold onto hope for a better tomorrow." ―Meredith Adamo, Morris Award–winning author of Not Like Other Girls
"Few Blue Skies is another captivating, powerful, and beautiful novel from Carolina Ixta. Every sentence will break your heart and fill you with hope at the same time. Readers will be inspired to seek out the truth and stand up strong for their communities against the devastation caused by corporations and those who abuse their power. May we always be honored with Ixta's stories and her craft!" ―Tiffany Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist
This information about Few Blue Skies was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her BA in creative writing and Spanish language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and obtained her master's degree in education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, was a Morris Award finalist, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the Pura Belpré Award. Few Blue Skies is her sophomore novel.
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