Everything Within and In Between

 Everything Within and In Between by Nikki Barthelmess, 336 pages.

Ri Fernández’s grandmother has been very strict her whole life that she should be "American." Nevermind that her grandmother's definition of American is very narrow and means that Ri isn't allowed to speak Spanish, or hang out with the people in her neighborhood, or really engage at all with her grandmother's Mexican culture. Ri thinks things might have been different if her mom hadn't left, and when she finds a letter from her that her grandmother was hiding she is determined not only to see her, but to embrace every part of her identity. This means finally addressing a lot of things that she had never been willing to deal with, with her white friends, her grandmother, and herself. 

This was a really sweet book. I have a few criticisms (everyone seems to be very lacking in emotional intelligence only until the big confrontations when they convey their feelings perfectly), but overall I really enjoyed it. It's a pretty wholesome, introspective young adult novel that has a fair bit to say about identity.