Everything Within and In Between by Nikki Barthelmess

 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication date: October 5th 2021

Pages: 336

Ri Fernandez is raised by her strict Mexican grandmother, who works hard even on her eldery age.Her mom is out of the picture, and Ri doesn't know exactly why. She is always told by her grandmother, that she lives in America and therefore she has to speak English instead of Spanish, and that she has to work hard to get a good education, to get out of the not so nice neighborhood they live in, and to make friends with the girls who live in the big mansions, for she wants a better life for Ri.So no, her grandmother is not that happy when Ri wants to take part in Spanish classes in high school. What her grandmother doesn't know is that Ri always wondered about her mom. She always wondered why she left. So when Ri finds a secret unanswered letter from her mom begging for a visit, Ri decides to reclaim what her grandma kept from her: a language and a mother. But when her mom doesn't appear on their meetings and when she does, Ri finds out that her mother isn't who she hoped she was, and even worse. . Her change of heart causes conflict between Ri and her best friend Brittany, as well as rising tension between Ri and her grandmother. As Ri tests the boundaries of her world she tries to discover who she really is..

This is a book that sets you a bit on the wrong foot in the first part. In the first part, Ri wants to join Spanish class because she has read something about a teen travel to Mexico where she can learn about her heritage. So this really makes you think as a reader that is going to happen later on in the story. Spoiler alert; it doesn't. It was mostly about Ri finding about her mom and her heritage, and some usual teenage drama some ''friends'' of Ri talk her over to take cocaine at a party, and there is some drama too with a guy she likes. The drama between her and her lost mom and the love her grandmother has for Ri where the most positive parts of this book. Further on I expected a bit more from this book.