Undercover Latina

By: Aya de León

Published by Candlewick Press, 2023

"Social criticism is woven into a fun read centered on kids of color. . . . An engaging, insightful adventure with a heartfelt conclusion." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Fourteen-year-old Andréa Hernández-Baldoquín hails from a family of spies working for the Factory, an international organization dedicated to protecting people of color. For her first solo mission, Andréa straightens her hair and goes undercover as Andrea Burke, a white girl, to befriend the estranged son of a dangerous white supremacist. In addition to her Factory training, the assignment calls for a deep dive into the son's interests--comic books and gaming--all while taking care not to speak Spanish and blow her family's cover. But it's hard to hide who you really are, especially when you develop a crush on your target's Latino best friend. Can Andréa keep her head, her geek cred, and her code-switching on track to trap a terrorist? This smart, entertaining, and politically astute novel is fast-paced Young adult fare from an established author of heist and espionage novels for adults, in a paperback edition offering discussion questions and an excerpt from the sequel in the back matter.