Bastián and Lore (both Mexican American and nonbinary) had each heard the stories about the world under the lake, but like everyone else, they believed it was just “lakelore”—until they ended up there together as children. Now teenagers, the two have become reacquainted, and Lore will be starting at Bastián’s school. Both are struggling in their own ways: Lore recently fought a bully who had tormented them for years due to their dyslexia; and Bastián, who is just starting on testosterone, has ADHD, doesn’t understand how to do their injections, and feels too ashamed to ask for help. Bastián also struggles with emotional regulation, overthinking, and anxiety; on bad days, they make papier-mache alebrijes (a Mexican art form) and release them into the underwater world, where the alebrijes come to life. As Lore and Bastián grow closer, the underwater world begins expanding and encroaching on their existence, flooding their streets and houses—perhaps in an attempt to deliver a lesson about self-acceptance and self-love. A dreamlike, magical love story remains firmly grounded in Lore’s and Bastián’s lives, identities, and perspectives; readers with dyslexia and ADHD may feel deeply seen, while others will benefit from concrete descriptions of these appealing characters’ particular experiences.  (Age 14 and older)

In this young adult novel by award-winning author Anna-Marie McLemore, two non-binary teens are pulled into a magical world under a lake - but can they keep their worlds above water intact?

Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water. But Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who’ve been there. Bastián grew up both above the lake and in the otherworldly space beneath it. Lore’s only seen the world under the lake once, but that one encounter changed their life and their fate.

Then the lines between air and water begin to blur. The world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don’t want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it, and to do that, they have to work together. There’s just one problem: Bastián and Lore haven’t spoken in seven years, and working together means trusting each other with the very things they’re trying to hide.