I first got here across Ella Cerón’s writing in college. Cerón was one in every of the OG staff writers at Thought Catalog and the one whose work resonated with me essentially the most. Every time I saw Cerón publish a latest article, I hurriedly clicked on the article to read it.
While I loved all of Cerón’s work, there may be one piece she wrote that I actually have never forgotten called “After all, perfect just isn’t interesting.” In the essay, Cerón argues that perfection just isn’t what makes someone attractive or value loving:
It was this track that opened the door to my journey towards self-love, and likewise helped me find the encouragement to finally end my very own quest for perfection.
Learning to like myself despite my flaws has been a tough road to go, but a worthy one, and I still have quite a lot of work to do. Lucky for me, Cerón is back together with his debut young adult novel, Viva Lola Espinoza. And for those who too have ever believed that you need to be perfect to be loved, to be interesting and to live, Viva Lola Espinoza that is the book for you.
After receiving an unexpected C in Spanish class, Lola Espinoza’s parents send her to remain along with her grandmother in Mexico City for the summer so she will study Spanish before returning home for her senior 12 months of highschool.
When she arrives in Mexico City and starts working at her cousin’s restaurant, she meets the incredibly charming and handsome Rio, and discovers that her family is cursed. Although Lola has never been lucky in love, she now learns that this bad luck is definitely the results of a magical design.
With the assistance of Rio’s surly and stoic best friend, Javi, Lola embarks on a mission to interrupt the family curse so she will fall in love without repercussions. Over the course of this summer, Lola learns more about her family, herself, and the magic that surrounds us all.
In this beautiful coming-of-age story, Lola comes to understand that perhaps you never needed to be perfect to deserve love. You just needed to be brave enough to indicate yourself as yourself and all that you just are. Viva Lola Espinoza is a vital book and a reminder that perfection just isn’t interesting anyway.
“Viva Lola Espinoza” Is available now.
