In the Rhode Island coastal town of Westerly, Flora Violeta LeFevre has one true best friend. Clara Ocampo Londra is humble, kind, and makes Flora laugh by pretending to snore during Spanish Saturday school. The fifth grade besties enjoy skateboarding and creating art together. They even have a favorite after-school hangout spot—Bruce Lee Boba.
Best friends make plans for the future. In Flora and Clara’s case, they can’t wait until they’re old enough to take a year off school and get paid to sail boats for rich people.
But one day, Flora’s world is shattered when her best friend tearfully shares some news.
“It’s my mother. . . She got a job in California and we’re moving after New Year’s,” Clara says.
Flora is stunned. She doesn’t know how she will go on without her best friend.
In Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship, New York Times bestselling author Veronica Chambers has penned an endearing middle grade story about a Panamanian American girl who uses humor and creativity to navigate a big life change and tricky sisterly dynamics. Not only is she bracing for her best friend’s move, but Flora is also clashing big-time with her older sister, Maylin, who has become overbearing and obsessive over every detail of her upcoming quinceañera. And Flora’s mother—a cardiothoracic surgeon—has been occupied nearly every Saturday due to the party planning.
Flora tries to focus on her friendship. She and Clara make it their mission to enjoy the time they have left together. They even design a “BFF-ometer”—a computer test to help them find worthy replacement friends after Clara moves away. Some of the friendship questions include whether the person can use Scratch (the simple coding tool they used to create the BFF-ometer), speak Spanish, or skateboard.
The inevitable day comes when Clara leaves for California. As the weeks crawl by, Flora finds herself struggling to fit in with her peers at school, particularly during lunch hour. Sunday evening becomes her new favorite time of the week, because that’s when she and Clara chat on Zoom. One day, Clara misses their call because she made a new friend who scored 3 out of 5 on the BFF-ometer. Flora tries not to be jealous, but it’s hard.
“At the core, this book is about friendship and the commitment that entails. It’s about the highs and lows, the joy and hurt. Flora’s story is perfect for young readers who enjoy art, mischief, and humor.”
Months later, a new girl arrives in Flora’s class. Her name is Zaidee Khal and she had moved to Rhode Island from Paris. Flora is at first unsure about Zaidee, who wears blazers and looks more like a grown-up than a kid. There’s a lot Flora needs to figure out. Does this new girl have the potential to be a new friend for Flora? Does Flora have space in her heart for another friendship? And when it comes to her strained relationship with Maylin, can the sisters find a way to grow closer again?
Aside from the humor and the charming and blossoming friendships that form the center of this story, a delightful aspect of Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship are the many nods to Panamanian culture throughout. For example, Flora likens her house to a sort of “Panamanian embassy in New England.” Home is where Sunday family dinners are held with her sister, parents and extended family including an aunt, uncles, abuela, and her abuela’s gentleman friend. Then there are the foods Maylin’s mom makes at home—albóndigas, arroz negro with seafood and more. It was a joy to read about a Panamanian family who spends a lot of time together.
Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship was inspired by Chambers’ daughter, Flora, and Flora’s best friend, Clara. Their friendship began in Palo Alto when the girls were nine. “Then we moved back home to New York and now we live in London, but Flora and Clara’s friendship is still going strong,” Chambers writes in the book’s acknowledgements. “There are always tears when they part but so much laughter whenever they get together.”
Out now by Dial Books, Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship is the first in a series with illustrations by author and illustrator Sujean Rim. The second is slated for publication in the Fall of 2024.
At the core, this book is about friendship and the commitment that entails. It’s about the highs and lows, the joy and hurt. Flora’s story is perfect for young readers who enjoy art, mischief, and humor.
Veronica Chambers is the editor for Narrative Projects at The New York Times. She is a prolific author, best known for the New York Times best seller Finish the Fight!, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl and picture book biographies Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb! and Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, she writes often about her Afro-Latina heritage. She speaks, reads, and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish.
Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family and dog, Brooklyn.
