McLemore, Anna-Marie. We Could Be Anyone. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends, 05/2026. 288pp. Fiction. Trade $20.99. 978-1-2503-7058-7. GRADES 7–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Orphaned teen siblings Lola and Lisandro have made a career out of staging and subsequently exorcising ghost hauntings. Struggling through the 1920s trying desperately to save enough to move to a city that will offer more safety for Lisandro’s queer identity and their Mexican heritage, they are compelled to take on their largest job yet– cleansing the spirits of an opulent and oft-contested hotel and resort. Lisandro and Lola are aided by supporting queer and trans characters, all of whom must contend with the ways their racial identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations stand in contrast to the hotel’s white, upper-class guests and owner. The novel soars in its critique of capitalist corruption and its depiction of the tender joys and messy conflicts of queer found family. However, several disparate threads of magical realism, Greek mythology, and Mexican folklore distract from the central plot.
Sicilia Smith—Alameda Free Library