North of Happy

From Adi Alsaid, the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost, Never Always Sometimes, and We Didn’t Ask for This

What do you do when you want to run away — but you end up finding yourself?

A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, Carlos Portillo is happy to follow the well-worn path to a future of comfort and ease in Mexico City that’s been planned for him since birth. But when his older brother Felix—who defied their parents to live a life of adventure—is tragically killed, Carlos is determined to live out his own dreams for the both of them.

He escapes to San Juan Island off the coast of Washington state and gets a job with a celebrity chef he’s admired from afar for years. But while things are coming together for him in the kitchen, a forbidden romance with his boss’s daughter could end his career before it even begins. Finally living for himself, Carlos learns that reality doesn’t come with a road map to an easy life — but does finding your true path mean following your head? Or your heart?

“An exceptional tale of grief, ambition, love, and maturity.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adult nominee
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
A TAYSHAS Reading List Book