MANGO ALL THE TIME

During a life-changing adventure in Hollywood, Mango Delight comes into her own.

Mango, her dad, and her friend/crush TJ fly to Hollywood to audition for a TV show starring 16-year-old Destiny Manaconda, her favorite television star, whom they met in New York City during the off-off-off-Broadway production of their school musical, Yo, Romeo!. Their two-day trip is all paid for, though that doesn’t mean it will be incident-free, as indicated early on by the airline employee who assumes their party doesn’t belong in first class. On this trip, Mango sees even more of Destiny’s life up-close. An emancipated minor, Destiny lives in a mansion apart from her family and works hard to make her performances seem easy. While Destiny’s manager whisks them around Los Angeles, revealing his plans for her little by little, Mango contemplates whether she even wants the glamorous life that Destiny has. While the events of her whirlwind experiences in Los Angeles change her, Mango remains the down-to-earth young person fans fell in love with in previous books: a fun, relatable character to follow through the ups and downs of discovering what life is really like for Black people in Hollywood, how to stand up for oneself, and the importance of valuing true friends and family.

Glitz and glamour tempered by real-life concerns make this finale a winner.