A funny, heartfelt story filled with unique and unforgettable characters, the strength of sisterhood and family, first love, and a love for STEM and the arts, this young adult novel will have readers laughing out loud while also thinking about their own future. Highly recommended for young adult collections.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“This novel digs deep into the twists and turns of sisterhood, and the girls’ voices are delightfully distinct and humorous…. Readers will feel like these deeply real, funny, and ambitious sisters are their own close friends.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Alternating chapters fully develop Lulu’s and Milagro’s distinct personalities; they have different interests and priorities, but their admiration and love for each other is clear….Details from their lives as a family of Peruvian American women add depth to this story of sisterhood and self-discovery.” — Horn Book Magazine
“This coming-of-age story explores the topic of post-high-school plans and the pressure some teens may feel to fit a mold or live up to certain expectations that have been set for them. Readers who are first-generation kids of immigrants will especially find Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity relatable.” — ALA Booklist
"There's SO MUCH HEART in these pages. This outstanding debut is hard-hitting and hilarious. I'm so hyped for more Angela Velez stories." — Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End
"Angela Velez weaves humor and heartbreak gifting us an irresistible, funny and propulsive novel about sisters. Lulu & Milagro's Search for Clarity offers up a fresh take on the road-trip novel. It's a brilliant exploration of girlhood and the challenges young women face when torn between personal dreams and ties to family." — Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana
"In a truly hilarious and heartwarming debut, author Angela Velez breaks out with a story of sisterly love, family secrets, and the roles forced on us at a young age. Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a laugh-out-loud, college road trip novel full of Catholic school hijinks. You’ll fall in love and root for Lulu and Milagro!" — Lilliam Rivera, Pura Belpré Honor-Winning Author of Never Look Back
“Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a tribute to girls everywhere as they figure out who they are and who they hope to be. Sharp, funny, and full of heart, it perfectly captures the heartbreak and joy of sisterhood, first crushes, familial expectations, and growing up.” — Crystal Maldonado, author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
“Lulu & Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a delightful journey of sisterhood, self-love, and chasing your dreams—even if they go in directions you never expected. I was cheering on the Zavala sisters every step of the way.” — Natalia Sylvester, author of Running
"In a truly hilarious and heartwarming debut, author Angela Velez breaks out with a story of sisterly love, family secrets, and the roles forced on us at a young age. Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a laugh-out-loud, college road trip novel full of Catholic school hijinks. You’ll fall in love and root for Lulu and Milagro!"
"There's SO MUCH HEART in these pages. This outstanding debut is hard-hitting and hilarious. I'm so hyped for more Angela Velez stories."
This coming-of-age story explores the topic of post-high-school plans and the pressure some teens may feel to fit a mold or live up to certain expectations that have been set for them. Readers who are first-generation kids of immigrants will especially find Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity relatable.
"Angela Velez weaves humor and heartbreak gifting us an irresistible, funny and propulsive novel about sisters. Lulu & Milagro's Search for Clarity offers up a fresh take on the road-trip novel. It's a brilliant exploration of girlhood and the challenges young women face when torn between personal dreams and ties to family."
“Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a tribute to girls everywhere as they figure out who they are and who they hope to be. Sharp, funny, and full of heart, it perfectly captures the heartbreak and joy of sisterhood, first crushes, familial expectations, and growing up.”
Alternating chapters fully develop Lulu’s and Milagro’s distinct personalities; they have different interests and priorities, but their admiration and love for each other is clear….Details from their lives as a family of Peruvian American women add depth to this story of sisterhood and self-discovery.
Lulu & Milagro’s Search for Clarity is a delightful journey of sisterhood, self-love, and chasing your dreams—even if they go in directions you never expected. I was cheering on the Zavala sisters every step of the way.
★ 01/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—The Zavala sisters have always been close, but ever since eldest sister Clara left Baltimore to attend college in Iowa, things have been different. Lulu is just as dedicated to school as Clara was, and has received an interview invitation to a summer program at Stanford. Milagro is focused on her boyfriend Pablo and trying not to get too many detentions. When Clara returns home during winter break, the sisters and their mom realize that something is different—Clara has changed, but she won't talk to Lulu or Milagro about what is going on. As Lulu prepares to go on a weeklong trip visiting colleges, Milagro's plans for intimacy with Pablo change as she discovers he's not who she thought, and she suddenly finds herself on the bus with Lulu. Throughout the trip, the sisters struggle with finding out what they want to do in the future; Lulu wants Clara to patch things up with their mom so she can also have the opportunity to go away for college, while Milagro makes forgetting about Pablo her priority. As they go from college to college, the sisters discover that their future can be different from what they imagined, but that that's not a bad thing. And as they get closer to the end of the trip, they find out important truths about themselves and about Clara. VERDICT A funny, heartfelt story filled with unique and unforgettable characters, the strength of sisterhood and family, first love, and a love for STEM and the arts, this young adult novel will have readers laughing out loud while also thinking about their own future. Highly recommended for young adult collections.—Selenia Paz
2021-11-16
Sisters set off on a college tour in search of answers to their uncertain futures.
Peruvian American Milagro Zavala and her younger sister, Lulu, couldn’t be any more different, and it shows—especially in their life goals. Milagro is desperate not to die a virgin; Lulu dreams of attending Stanford’s summer program. But their Mami stands in the way: She wants Milagro to behave like a respectable young lady, and she makes Lulu promise to stay in Baltimore for college, believing that leaving home will ruin her. After all, the girls’ older sister, Clara, has changed dramatically since leaving for the University of Iowa. When Lulu and Milagro embark on the same college road trip, a joint effort organized by St. Agnes, their Catholic girls’ school, and St. Anthony, the nearby all-boys school, they must find out whether their dreams are possible—and talking to Clara in person seems like the key. This novel digs deep into the twists and turns of sisterhood, and the girls’ voices are delightfully distinct and humorous. Lulu calls one of Milagro’s make-out partners a “cologne-wearing parasite”; Milagro gleefully tells readers that her first sexual encounter “will be me, him, and my soul slowly departing to hell.” The bilingual Zavala sisters are steeped in their culture, and the rest of the cast is culturally diverse as well.
Readers will feel like these deeply real, funny, and ambitious sisters are their own close friends. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-18)
