Laura Taylor Namey’s latest YA novel is true to its title, in that it’s full of love and full of Echo Park. Within the vibrant Los Angeles neighborhood is our FMC Clary, who works in her family flower shop and plans to stay there for the rest of her life. She carries some deep abandonment issues because of her runaway birth mother, so she clings to her home and the people in it. The golden-haired neighborhood boy Emilio, however, wants to sever ties with their home and explore the world. And here we have our opposites who eventually attract.
Namey has a lot of strong suits — bringing a setting to life, expressing her love for Cuban culture — but her strongest is hands down establishing friendships between characters. Clary’s heart is already filled to the brim thanks to her family and best friend, and then along comes Emilio. Freaking Emilio with his smartass comments and his sweet bike ride lessons (ah, those bike scenes were romcom perfection). Even though their romance is definitely a slowburn, it doesn’t feel as slow when you get to see their friendship blossom.
I also enjoyed the friendship that developed with Clary’s surprise visitor. With this visitor and Emilio, Clary’s personal journey unfolds beautifully. That said, I didn’t get as much impact as I did with Namey’s When We Were Them or as much squee as I did with A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. Still a fantastic read — was just missing that extra oomph I wanted.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With Love, Echo Park will be released on August 27.
Sara Bechtol 