Here's what it means to be a tortillera.

It means you're a girl who loves girls.

Which means you get kicked out of Catholic school faster than Mother Superior Sicko can say "immoral."

Which means your wacko Mami finds out.

Which means you're kicked to the curb with nowhere to go, and the love of your life is shipped off to Puerto Rico to marry a guy.

But this is Miami, and if you have a bighearted best friend and a loyal puppy at your side, and if your broken heart is still full of love, you just might land on your feet.

In a first novel as crazy, joyful, hilarious, and painful as your first love, Mayra Lazara Dole goes beyond the many meanings of tortillera to paint a vivid picture of a girl who gets kicked out of home only to find a new kind of family.

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Here's what it means to be a tortillera.

It means you're a girl who loves girls.

Which means you get kicked out of Catholic school faster than Mother Superior Sicko can say "immoral."

Which means your wacko Mami finds out.

Which means you're kicked to the curb with nowhere to go, and the love of your life is shipped off to Puerto Rico to marry a guy.

But this is Miami, and if you have a bighearted best friend and a loyal puppy at your side, and if your broken heart is still full of love, you just might land on your feet.

In a first novel as crazy, joyful, hilarious, and painful as your first love, Mayra Lazara Dole goes beyond the many meanings of tortillera to paint a vivid picture of a girl who gets kicked out of home only to find a new kind of family.

...

Even though nobody in her Cuban-American neighborhood thinks girls should play the drums, Chavi knows she was born to play. She drums on paint cans, sofa arms, even on her mother’s cheeks. Her favorites are the tumbadoras, conga drums. So, when she’s not picked to play on the school float for Calle Ocho—Miami’s Eighth Street carnaval—she decides to do something about it! Mayra L. Dole’s plucky little musician will drum her way into the hearts of all young readers, who will add her to their list of favorite heroines. Tonel’s illustrations capture the flavor of Calle Ocho’s inhabitants and celebrations....