In dual timelines, Schaper presents a story of culture, love, and feminism that crosses generations. Pili is a Mexican American teen in 1970s Laredo, Texas. Pilar is her namesake and her sister's granddaughter, living in present-day Houston. Both young women are strong-willed and talented. Pilar hopes to audition for the school play but feels discouraged because of low self-esteem and constant bullying; she is tormented because of her weight and becomes the subject of an embarrassing social media post. Pili eschews the expectations of her male-centric community and is especially wary of those traditions in light of her sister's marriage to an aggressively macho man. The character development is layered, and the settings are fully realized. The conflict between family duty and individual hopes and dreams will resonate with young people. Questions of faith and religion are also woven throughout. Short chapters with alternating narrators balance the story's pace, and spare writing and the revelation of long-held secrets make for a compelling tale, with an ultimately rewarding conclusion. The familial bonds, the protagonists' lively personalities, the whip-smart humor, and the cultural touchstones should appeal to fans of Isabel Quintero's Gabi, a Girl in Pieces.

Pilar and Pili are two young women with a generation separating them and family secrets between them in this multigenerational family drama.Pili lives in 1970s Laredo, on the Mexican border in South Texas. She has a flammable personality and routinely flouts the cultural expectations of femininity in her machismo-oriented Mexican American community. Pilar, her granddaughter and namesake, is a high schooler in contemporary Houston with a vivid imagination and dreams of making it as an actress. Yet Pilar struggles with her own self-worth, as she is regularly bullied for her weight. While Pili pushes for her sister to leave her emotionally abusive husband in the historical storyline, Pilar faces down her bullies and reveals herself to be both a talented actress and true friend in the present day. As the narrative perspective shifts between the dual protagonists, the revelations of family secrets demonstrate the inner strength of Pili, Pilar, and a long line of ambitious and feisty women before them. Intergenerational conflict and clashes in values also become a frequent theme in the novel. While the structure keeps the pace brisk, the intertwined stories explore the family's history through the facets of sisterhood, motherhood, and friendship, creating a character study in family dynamics.A family coming-of-age story of fierce females, at once broad and intimate in scope. (Fiction. 14-18)