Lulu and Milagro's Search For Clarity by Angela Velez

Reviewed by Anna M.
Grade 10

For me, this book got off to a rough start immediately. The second I saw the title: Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity, I was not expecting it to turn out good. Personally, I don’t think a title should be the quick answer to a summary. I mean, if we wanted to just end this review, you might ask, “What’s this book about?” and I could just say, “Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity.” That’d be the end; however, even with the irritating title, the novel wasn’t horrible.

The story begins with two girls who live in Baltimore with their single mother. Each sister has a goal they want to accomplish over spring break. Lulu, the youngest (and more mature), wants to go on her school’s cross-country college trip AND complete her interview for a summer internship program at Stanford, her dream school. Milagro, the middle sister, wants to do “it” for the first time with her jerk boyfriend, Pablo. Both girls face HUGE obstacles before they even get a chance to start. Their mom begins asking Lulu not to go away to Stanford for the summer. The oldest daughter, Clara, went off to college, and when she returned, she was an entirely different person. Mami and Clara now aren’t speaking. Mami doesn’t what happened with Clara to happen with her other two daughters. However, it’s Lulu’s dream to go to Stanford and work in conservation biology and staying in Baltimore could be sacrificing that dream forever. In order to get her mom to let her go and show her being away doesn’t change anything, Lulu must find a way to fix Clara and Mami’s relationship. While this is all going on, Milagro is being called in the principal’s office and as a result, finds out one of the honors students dropped out. Shockingly, Milagro, who’s not the D-minus student you’d expect her to be, is next in line.

Milagro, however, DOES NOT want to go. She simply has no interest in college and doesn’t see the point. Not to mention, it would wreck all her plans with Pablo. Her mother ends up forcing her. With no other choice but to go, Milagro invites Pablo over early. Nevertheless, before they do anything, she sees evidence of Pablo cheating on his phone. She breaks up with him and sends the punk on his way. Milagro must find a way to get over the breakup with her “perfect” boyfriend or find a way to get him back. The extremely opposite girls must accomplish completely opposite tasks with extremely opposite trials. However, on the journey, they might just find out they’re not that different after all and how important sisterhood will be throughout their lives.

Once you get past the title and the unbelievably aggravating boyfriend, the book isn’t terrible. It has a very important message of celebrating family differences AND the importance of sisterhood. However, even with the excellent messages, I couldn’t help but feel the coming-of-age/going-to-college storyline is a bit overdone. I also felt the story and actual author’s style was dumbed down.

In conclusion, this novel had many excellent morals, and I think it conveyed the coming-of-age storyline well. Still, if you’re looking for a book with quality and something you’ll remember for being an amazing book, you should pass. If you’re looking for just another stereotypical teenage novel, this is a good book for you. Angela Velez wasn’t a terrible writer, and I hope to see a little more creativity, growth, and substance in her next novel.