âA funny, perceptive, and much-needed book telling a much-needed story.â âCeleste Ng, author of the New York Times bestseller Little Fires Everywhere
First-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.
Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wallâor rather, walls.
Thereâs the wall her mom has put up ever since Lilianaâs dad leftâagain.
Thereâs the wall that delineates Lilianaâs diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthyâand whiteâsuburban high school sheâs just been accepted into.
And thereâs the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she canât just lighten up, she has to whiten up.
So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if sheâs seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isnât that her father doesnât want to come homeâhe canâtâŠand her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.
But a wall isnât always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.