Ruiz is multifaceted as a politician who struggles with staying true to his Latinx heritage and family while trying to cater to the pressures of his big developer donors. The characterization is multilayered even Sen. The diversity of South Florida is represented here with nuance Mari’s friends have Haitian, Dominican, and Peruvian ancestry, and Spanish is sprinkled throughout, adding to the narrative’s setting.

Sylvester adeptly delves behind the scenes in political families’ lives while presenting the complexity of a young woman realizing that her parents are not the heroes she always believed them to be. Running away right before a national televised family interview, she becomes the focus of viral videos and manufactured tabloid articles. But as the Florida primaries approach, the young woman balks at the growing demands expected of her and the breaches of her privacy. Mari and her family have been by his side during every campaign, from local South Florida positions to his current role in the U.S. She decides it’s time to seize control of her life, but her plans come crashing down when she learns her parents have been hiding the truth from her-the truth about her own body.As her life begins to unravel, a teen struggles with her father’s decision to run for president.Ĭuban American Mariana Ruiz has always supported her charismatic father’s political ambitions. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. In this gorgeously written and authentic novel, Verónica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park in the summer before her senior year, all while figuring out her first real boyfriend and how to feel safe in her own body. Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present… An Evening with Natalia Sylvester discussing Breathe And Count Back From Ten (Clarion Books, $17.99) Thursday, May 12, 6 PM ET RSVP About the Book:

Running natalia sylvester