Crashing into You

March 25, 2024
As a scholarship student at Philmore Academy, where she’s one of only a few brown students and is constantly enduring anti-fat taunting from her classmates, Ecuadorian and Mexican American 16-year-old Leticia Rivera is used to not fitting in. Practically raised by her 32-year-old brother Santos following their mother’s death, which left their grief-stricken father struggling to care for them, stubborn Leti feels most at home while street-racing, a skill she learned from Santos and his motley garage crew. She hopes to one day receive “the elusive Underground Race Invitation”; she believes that winning the race will put her in the fast lane toward her dreams of being a renowned female street racer. When autistic, Jewish Russian classmate Jacob Fleckenstein returns from sitting shiva following his father’s death, he and Leti bond over their mutual losses and their hopes for the future. Then, Leti finally receives the coveted Underground Race invite, but a personal tragedy forces her to reevaluate her love of street-racing and prompts her to uncover family secrets. In this propulsively paced novel, Callen (A Breath Too Late) juggles a large ensemble cast whose personal challenges are thoughtfully integrated into the central romance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

April 15, 2024
Leticia Rivera is a pro at outracing her problems--until she isn't. Sixteen-year-old Leti is a street racer in Maryland, something her older brother and primary caregiver, Santos, taught her--from driving at age 11 to mastering auto mechanics. Santos wanted her to be confident and know that the road was hers. Attending the fancy Philmore Academy on scholarship, Ecuadorian American Leti sticks out at the private school--"my body doesn't fit into this uniform just like I don't fit into this school"--and she's not interested in the sexual advances of wealthy, popular Derek O'Neil, school quarterback and her rival on the underground racing circuit. Leti endures sexism, fat shaming, a barrage of microaggressions, and being abandoned by her best friend in favor of the popular kids, effectively solidifying her status as an outcast. She's falling for fellow outsider Jacob Fleckenstein, an autistic boy who's full of kindness and has a passion for outer space. Leti's dreaming of getting an invitation to the Underground Race, with "winnings so big they could carry me far away," when tragedy strikes. The novel starts out strong with its compelling setting, no-nonsense protagonist, and cast of quirky side characters, but it falters in melding together a love story, a tale of redemption, an underdog storyline, and a plotline about grief. Readers might stay for the action but become overwhelmed by the number of elements, some of which are executed less skillfully than others. A bumpy but largely enjoyable ride. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 1, 2024

Gr 10 Up-Leti Rivera is crashing both literally and figuratively in this title. She has been racing her lovely sombrita car fast and furiously for years so "nothing can catch her." She dreams of becoming a female street racer. Yet at the age of 17, she is starting to run into some of the very things she is trying to leave behind-the guilt over her mother's death, her father's never-ending grief, the private high school where she doesn't fit in, her own body, and the cruel boy who wants more than she is willing to give. She holds her heart in her fist to keep it safe, and only slowly begins to release it when she is forced to stop and notice Jacob, whose gentle innocence, patience, and even height bring her joy. As Leti slowly shares her heart, a series of "crashes" not in her control are set in motion, leading toward loss and trauma. Friends and family come together to help Leti find hope, but she must drive deep within to truly overcome her fears and sadness and rescue herself while saving Jacob. Callen presents a spunky, realistic Latina in a fast-paced novel with themes of love, loss, street racing, family, and a strong Latine identity. VERDICT This novel should hold an important place in teen libraries.-Ruth Quiroa

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Leti Rivera grows up rebuilding cars and learning to race by her brother, Santos', side. Their mother's death, from before Leti can remember, left their father too bereft to parent. Leti fully believes that with Sombra, her beloved Civic, she has the skills to win races like the upcoming Underground--if she can just be taken seriously. When a (literal) run-in with classmate Jacob brings to light the reason for his recent absence--his father's death, a grief Leti is all too familiar with--her heart begins to open in a way she thought would never happen. Soon, though, a race gone horribly wrong results in an unexpected tragedy. Leti feels like she must choose between her own destiny and the people she loves. Powerful emotions, short chapters, and high-octane characters in high-stakes situations are met with beautifully lyrical, sparse but intense expressions of grief and examinations of its impact on different types of people and relationships. An Ecuadorian cultural infusion and great autistic representation layer with busy, realistic-feeling teens, a complex but ultimately hopeful family dynamic, and a lightning-fast plot for a powerful emotional payoff about the consequences of losing oneself.

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