Undercover Latina

Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up

“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.

About the Author

Aya de León is the Afro-Latina author of several suspense novels for adults, as well as The Mystery Woman in Room Three, an open-source online novel about two undocumented Dominican teens who uncover a kidnapping plot to stop the Green New Deal. She teaches creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley, and is active in movements for racial, gender, and climate justice. She lives in Northern California.