My Thoughts:
This novel in verse hits all my soft spots: the innocence of broken people finding love, food as medicine, poetry as storytelling and the special relationships between grandparents and teen grandchildren. This novel in verse has all those feels.
As someone raised by my own grandparents, and also someone who slowly lost a grandparent to Alzheimer's, Danna's quest to keep her grandfather with her through reproducing her grandmother's recipes or taking him to certain places that held food memories just was so painfully lovely to read. It brought my own yearning and heartache back. Her grandfather, a former food critic, is such a magnetic minor character that he really was almost a third wheel to this budding relationship between Danna and Raul.
Perhaps because my reading these past few years has been a majority of non white authors as the norm, and therefore white authors as OTHER, I am noticing that these multi-generational caretaker stories between young adults and grandparents bridges these diverse culture stories, whether the characters are Latin, Asian, Oceanic or Indigenous. What does it say about these young adults? The relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is very different from the relationship between a teen and their parent. The complications are less. The unconditional love is more. The storytelling is a form of lineal education. Love, love, love it.
From the Publisher:
Award-winning author Laekan Zea Kemp’s heart-wrenching novel-in-verse follows two teens who must come together to heal the pain from their pasts, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Nicola Yoon.
Danna Mendoza Villarreal’s grandfather is slowly losing himself as his memories fade, and Danna’s not sure her plan to help him remember through the foods he once reviewed will be enough to bring him back. Especially when her own love of food makes her complicated relationship with her mother even more difficult.
Raúl Santos has been lost ever since his mother was wrongly incarcerated two years ago. Playing guitar for the elderly has been his only escape, to help them remember and him forget. But when his mom unexpectedly comes back into his life, what is he supposed to do when she isn’t the same person who left?
When Danna and Raúl meet, sparks fly immediately and they embark on a mission to heal her grandfather...and themselves. Because healing is something best done together—even if it doesn’t always look the way we want it to.
Publication details:
I don't normally do this, but I had to share the pic of the author because it is so fabulous. This is Laekan Zea Kemp, currently living in Austin, Texas. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Check, check, check.
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers (April 4, 2023)
Grade level: 9 and up
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