A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea & Tomorrow is a love letter to anyone who’s ever driven off the beaten path. Laura Taylor Namey’s writing is bold and bright, and Lila’s story proves that just because we plan our futures one way doesn’t mean we don’t have other options.
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 panadería, 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 to 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.
This is all you could want in a coming-of-age story. I saw a lot of my high school self in Lila, strong willed and hard-set in her plan for her future. But when things begin to change and she has to start questioning everything she thought she wanted, she has to make some tough decisions. I went through the same thing, going from journalism to publishing my senior year of high school, and I know plenty of high schoolers and college students who’ve had to do the same thing. In Lila’s context, as the granddaughter of an immigrant and as a Cuban-American so embedded in Miami culture, it’s all the more poignant and important.
Laura Taylor Namey’s writing took some getting used to, but by the fifth chapter, I was completely hooked by Lila’s thought-process narration. Don’t get me wrong, there were a good handful of times in the book where I had to blink at the page and wonder just what was trying to be said, but that doesn’t stop the fact that the narration style is experimental and fun at its core, boldly shying away from the norm. Namey’s characters are just as bold, with Lila being so stubborn it made me sigh heavily at times. Each person had a strong personality, and I could sort how they functioned in their little group. Still, sometimes the characterization felt stiff. A lot was going on, and some of the characters got lost in it, more dragged along with the plot than influencing it. The story weaves a lot into it, and unfortunately plot points —Goldline, the tagger—drop off and are never talked about again, having really only been used for tension and fleshing out other characters. They felt unnecessary and convoluted to begin with, so I wasn’t sad to see them go, but it does put a bit of a damper on the satisfactory “everything will work out” ending when you have to question how every other apparent major issue is going to be addressed.
Lila and Orion’s relationship developed organically, and I loved seeing them get their happy ending. They had great romantic tension and supported each other throughout the entire book, not to mention all the tropes: the motorcycle rides, the sweater/jacket, prom. Everything you could love about an adorable teenage romance story can be found. At the end of the day, this is a happy book, vivid and lyrical, that just wants the best for its characters.
Laura Taylor Namey is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, The Library of Lost Things, and When We Were Them. A proud Cuban-American, she can be found hunting for vintage treasures and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. This former teacher writes young adult novels featuring quirky teens learning to navigate life and love. She holds a BA in Elementary Education from the University of San Diego and is the winner of the Peggy Miller Award for excellence in young adult fiction.
You can find more about Namey at her website, https://www.laurataylornamey.com/.
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