First published 1995
Seventeen-year-old April Hunter works in her father's medical practice when Fernando arrives as another poor patient from Latin America. She tries to ignore him at first, but April finds herself drawn to the young man despite her initial dismissal. Questions multiply in her mind. How did Fernando acquire the terrible scar across his neck? What was his life like in El Paraiso, El Salvador, the place he calls home? Her curiosity grows into something deeper as Fernando shares his story, revealing the brutal experiences that drove him north. April listens to his account of violence and survival, feeling her fascination transform into love. Then the Immigration and Naturalization Service contacts her family with their own version of Fernando's past. The two stories contradict each other completely. April must decide which account to believe and whom she can trust, even as her feelings for Fernando intensify.
Genres: romance, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: El Paraiso, El Salvador, Latin America
Period: 21st-century
196 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Content warnings: violence