No Way Never Sisters

Acevedo (The Curse on Spectacle Key) and Sylvester (Breathe and Count Back from Ten) pull a reverse Parent Trap in this effervescent novel about at-odds tweens scheming to sabotage their parents’ relationship. Every interaction between sporty, popular Roxana Romero and her artistic, reserved classmate Melisa Flores ends in misunderstandings and hurt feelings. The only thing the 12-year-olds see eye-to-eye on is their mutual dislike of the romantic relationship between Meli’s mother and Roxy’s father. When their parents announce their engagement—and that the quartet is moving into a fixer-upper that they will spend the summer restoring as a family—the girls resolve to break up the couple by amplifying the adults’ differing personalities. As renovations commence, Roxy and Meli find ample opportunities to instigate tension and, to their surprise, discover that they’re a good team. But as their plan comes to fruition, they worry they’re making a mistake. Throughout Meli and Roxy’s distinct alternating perspectives, the authors sprinkle affecting moments of burgeoning sisterhood into comedic mishaps, imparting raw emotional resonance into the frothy anti-rom-com. Both families are Latinx. Ages 8–12. Agents: (for Acevedo) Stéphanie Abou, Massie McQuilkin & Altman; (for Sylvester) Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary. (Mar.)