Laura Taylor Namey is a Cuban-American Californian who can be found haunting her favorite coffee shops, drooling over leather jackets, and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband, two superstar children, and her beloved minature schnauzer-muse. Visit her at laurataylornamey.com.
For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela's role as head baker at their panaderÃa, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything--including Lila herself--fell apart. Worried about Lila's mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: Spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare for Lila...until she meets Orion Maxwell. A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester's drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn't long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila's mind--one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.
Lila Reyes, member of a tight-knit family and a big dreamer, is an absolutely wonderful main character whose voice I loved after just the first sentence. Not only did I find myself in Lila, but I saw the ways in which so many other people could find themselves in Lila: Cuban-Americans, anxious travelers, planners, bakers, and people with different plans for their lives, just to name a few. One of my favorite things about Lila's character is that her success plan doesn't include higher education like it's a given. Rather, her plan is her passion. It's a great message to be sending throughout a young adult fiction book. Too often higher education is seen as the goal; for a lot of people, it can be. But there are so many different life plans, and so many of the characters in this book don't have a higher education life plan. The diversity in this is exactly what young adult fiction needed.
Lila is undertaking a journey to find herself, and that journey also involves uncovering other people along the way. When she discovers that the world is bigger than Miami, than family, than home, and that that's okay, it's a really powerful moment for both Lila and readers. Her wishes for herself don't have to be limited to what she knows, and I often feel like knowledge can be limiting as well as freeing. Lila is a planner, like myself, and it's so hard to be a planner these days! Everything is up in the air, and most people don't really understand the value of people like Lila and me. Luckily, Lila learns to love this part of herself and she finds people who also love her for all that she is. Lila moving through England and discovering this about the world and herself is powerful for a young, dreaming and determined woman, and necessary for those types of young women who read young adult.
Her romance with Orion is the most wholesome and healthy young adult romance I've read in a hot minute. Orion is a character in his own right, struggling with his own family issues, business endeavors, and romantic pursuits. One of the things I loved about his character introduction was that he was planning on going on a date with another girl! That is, again, something you don't see in young adult a lot. Often, the romantic interest literally exists to be with the main character; in Orion's case, he was just living his own life and dealing with his own issues before Lila walked in. Namey's clear dedication in making each of her characters their own was evident throughout the novel, especially with Orion. In fact, it's what makes every interaction between Lila and the other characters so special and wholesome; knowing who they are, along with knowing Lila just a little bit better, makes all the character interactions more meaningful to Lila's story, and thus to readers' understanding of the book. Another thing I greatly enjoyed about this romance is that Namey didn't let Orion and Lila get preoccupied with the first kiss or sex or any big physical romantic milestones. Too often, I think, there's this conceit that there has to be buildup to those moments (and that they have to exist at all) and Namey totally debunks that by allowing Orion's and Lila's relationship to progress organically. Obviously, the two of them are battling against time, sure, but Namey's conscious decision to let her characters focus on themselves before being with other people in big physical ways sends a huge and important message. Not all teenagers are thinking about making out and sex; a lot of them are just trying to figure out who they are. Namey nails that with Orion and Lila. So, shout out to Namey for creating a totally swoon-worthy British boy and for crafting a young adult romance for the ages!
When I was reading, I was like What is there not to love? The writing is so warm, so light, even as it delves into heavy, heavy topics. I haven't read a book that's made me smile this wide in so long. Even as I was putting myself in Lila's shoes and empathizing with her losses, I still found myself laughing at her new friends' antics and smiling when she reacted to new teas and cheering her on as she chased her baking-in-the-inn dream! Namey's writing combined flawlessly with all the themes and messages she wanted to address; the way the writing and those themes worked hand-in-hand is what makes A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow such a warm read. One of my favorite niche things that Namey did was give Lila's backstory through these sarcastic and heartbreaking recipes. They revealed bits of Lila that she didn't want to admit to even herself, so putting them in those little recipes as "side bars" was a genius decision. Namey's focus on food, too, was fabulous--you'll definitely want some snacks for when you read! Namey's knowledge and passion bleed through some of the best moments in the kitchen, which is what makes character interactions so wholesome and fluffy, especially when they take place surrounding Lila's cooking! My only question: Who is the one that tagged all the buildings at the end? I need an answer!
Luckily for us, this isn't the one book by Laura Taylor Namey! Her debut, The Library of Lost Things is available anywhere where books are sold, and her third novel, When We Were Them, drops in November of 2021!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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