Few Blue Skies

"Clever and vulnerable...Ixta (Shut Up, This Is Serious) examines young love, environmental justice, and the cost of integrity in her timely and engaging sophomore novel. Compelling examinations of accountability, activism, financial insecurity, and staying true to one's principles permeate Paloma's story, which highlights the characters' difficulty grappling with their desire to make a difference while finding their place in the world." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Timely and engaging...Compelling examinations of accountability, activism, financial insecurity, and staying true to one's principles permeate Paloma's story, which highlights the characters' difficulty grappling with their desire to make a difference while finding their place in the world. Layered depictions of the protagonists' shifting relationship-impacted by their ordeal and conveyed in Paloma's clever and vulnerable first-person POV-proffer challenging questions about the things one is willing to compromise for both love and justice." - Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"Pura Belpré Award winner Carolina Ixta pulls no punches in this painful yet tentatively hopeful novel...Ixta's writing is dazzlingly lyrical." - Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Here, there are no easy choices, but Ixta emphasizes compassion for the people trying to do what's right while holding those in power accountable. The tender, lingering romance between Julio and Paloma parallels the love both teens feel for their hometown." - Horn Book Magazine

"Brilliantly crafted with narrative echoes of itself, Ixta's sophomore work asks difficult questions about scales of social justice and loyalty to one's own morals." - Booklist

"Paloma embodies courage and love. . .Ixta weaves visuals that aptly capture the colors and feelings sensed by Paloma, and the delicious vocabulary elevates the reading to an aesthetic experience. This book viscerally encourages teens to recognize that despite ongoing political and environmental challenges, healing from trauma is essential for empowerment." - School Library Journal

"Through a wholly drawn narrator and her signature gorgeous prose, Carolina Ixta has crafted both a searing commentary on the human toll of corporate greed and a tender story of a girl navigating first love, family, and an uncertain future. Few Blue Skies is one of those books that reminds me why I love YA. Ixta avoids easy answers and instead offers a blueprint to readers on what it means to ask questions, to find community, to be an advocate-and, above all, to hold onto hope for a better tomorrow." - Meredith Adamo, Morris Award-winning author of Not Like Other Girls

"Few Blue Skies is another captivating, powerful, and beautiful novel from Carolina Ixta. Every sentence will break your heart and fill you with hope at the same time. Readers will be inspired to seek out the truth and stand up strong for their communities against the devastation caused by corporations and those who abuse their power. May we always be honored with Ixta's stories and her craft!" - Tiffany Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist

"With her second book, Carolina Ixta proves she is no one-hit wonder. As powerful and engaging as her debut, Shut Up, This Is Serious, this novel is a stirring testament to the strength of community and the courage it takes to stand up for what is right. With heart and conviction, Ixta reminds us that struggle can lead to growth and that hope can flourish even in the darkest of times. Set against a community's fight against power conglomerate causing environmental devastation, Ixta delivers a story that is both intimate and urgent-cementing her place as a vital new voice in contemporary fiction." - Ernesto Cisneros, award-winning author of Efrén Divided and Falling Short