By Diana Lopez
Reviewed by TFK Kid Reporter Claire Epting

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Number of pages: 208

Apolonia Flores (or Lina, as everyone calls her) has a life that is far from normal. She lives with her dad in a house filled with books. Her best friend's mother is obsessed with making confetti-filled eggs called cascarones. And she loves collecting socks. The school year is starting again, and so her life becomes full of surprises. She is thrown curveball after curveball as she tries to find the answers to life's big questions: Why is her best friend neglecting her? Why does her dad care more about books than about her? And most importantly, why did her mom die last year? Like a cascaron, Lina's life is full of colorful people and events, and you will want to read about every single one of them in this witty, honest novel.

Most of the characters were believable. They seemed to be people you could meet in your everyday life. Some of the more extreme characters, like the mom who makes cascarones day and night, are slightly less believable. Lina sounded like the most normal character in the book, because the story was told from her own perspective in a realistic way.

I would rate this book a 9. It was very easy to read, and the conversational writing made the story smooth. I sympathized with Lina in some situations, and in the end, I felt happy for her. The one negative thing I would say about this book is that at times, it is hard to follow. Many things all happen at once, and so it gets a little overwhelming. Other than that, I think this is a good book, especially because readers can relate to Lina and the struggles she faces.