Laekan Zea Kemp

Danna's beloved grandfather has dementia, and she's made it her mission to try to bring him moments of clarity through the foods he's loved and written about throughout his life.

Raúl has lived with his uncle, a pastor, for the past two years while his mom has been in jail, but when she finally comes home, it doesn't go back to the way it used to be between them: she has nightmares, sobs in the shower, and hassles him about grades.

Raúl and Danna meet when he visits her house with his uncle show more for sessions of music therapy with her grandpa. There is instant chemistry, but beyond that, the two quickly develop a rapport and share their feelings, fears, and joys.

Danna's cousin and best friend Victoria and her dad both love her unconditionally, but her mother is cold and judgmental, especially about Danna's body, clothes, and what she eats; it turns out this has to do with something in her own past.

Novel in verse. Danna's text is aligned left, Raúl's is aligned right. Set in Austin, TX; some Spanish. Enough descriptions of food to make readers salivate!

Quotes

...because he told them they were good
and what they heard
is that they're good enough.
And if an alien came down to Earth
and asked me
what a Christian is,
that's what I would tell them.
That it's a person who thinks
they're good enough. (142)

Maybe flying and falling
are actually the same thing.
Maybe the only difference
is how it makes you feel. (165)

Arguing over this body that
won't fit
into the keyhole
that unlocks
my mother's love. (195)

I hear it in his voice,
this longing for someone
who isn't supposed to be lost. (237)

Life isn't a test you can take again.
You either pass or you fail
and the older I get,
the less time she has to
stack the deck in my favor,
to have any say in
who I'll end up being. (250)

"I can't stop
chasing that feeling.
This appetite
for miracles
I can never
satisfy." (271)

"Healing
doesn't always look
the way we want it to" (320)

"Maybe that's why [time] dragged.
Because while I was begging it to speed up,
somewhere in the world
someone else was begging it to slow down." (330)

...that's
what I'm so afraid
of losing.
Not just Grandpa
but how he sees me. (383) show less

Pen Prado's dream is to manage, and eventually take over, her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos; but her parents' dream for her involves nursing school, not the food industry. When she tells them she hasn't been going to classes, her father fires her from the restaurant and kicks her out of the house. Xander, who is hired just as Pen is fired, is an undocumented immigrant who longs to find the father that abandoned him, although his abuelo wishes he wouldn't look. The two help and support show more each other and fall in love, each encouraging the other to follow their dreams. But the story is not just about them; their community is threatened by a dangerous loan shark called El Martillo - and El Martillo has his sights set on the Prados' restaurant, because Pen's dad keeps helping people who are in debt to him. In addition to outside forces, Pen also battles depression, and Xander fears deportation. Stakes are high, but love - and community - are up to the challenge. And the descriptions of food are mouthwatering.

See also: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Quotes

But I don't know where he is. I don't know who he is. And without that, I don't know who I am. And I need to. (Xander, 88)

"What if there's no such thing as being ready?" (Pen, 246)

Pen's depression is practically invisible, her ability to disguise the worst of it a necessity of living in her father's house. (256)

People from my neighborhood don't take risks. We have dreams, sure. But the numerous threats involved in their pursuit keeps us from pining for things beyond our reach. (Pen, 265)

That means not wasting any more time being stuck in this self-doubt that is a leech and a liar and the most dangerous kind of amnesia. (Pen, 268) show less

A stunning teen novel in verse that was mouthwatering and profound. Danna is slowly losing her grandfather to dementia, it's taking away her favorite person and she is determined to hang on to him for as long as she can. She cooks his favorite meals and gets the food he so lovingly wrote about when he was a food writer. Sometimes he comes back for a minute, sometimes an hour, sometimes it has no effect.
Raul is a mediocre student who just wants to play the guitar so he can forget about the show more fact that his mom is locked up in prison. When he and his uncle go to Danna's house to sing and play guitar as part of music therapy he and Danna form an instant connection. Their teenaged lives are in turmoil and through food, prayer, and friendship things will work out. Not the way they planned it, but they will work out. Beautiful writing; it's impossible not to get hungry while reading this. It's practically a love letter to food and the memories it can store for us. show less

Danna’s grandfather has dementia and is losing his memory more and more often. He is her north star (he sees her as a miracle wating to happen 383) and Danna does everything she can to inspire his moments of clarity and recognition, including sharing with him the kinds of food that he used to review for newspapers and magazines. Raúl’s mother has been imprisoned on a drug charge and now she is finally out. Her trauma affects their relationship as she comes down hard on his bad grades show more and behavior. Raúl takes solace in making music on his guitar and accompanying his uncle, a pastor, to music therapy sessions with clients. Danna and Raúl meet when Raúl and his uncle visit her grandfather for a music therapy session. Their attraction is instant and they bond in their grief and paths to a kind of healing. Their different griefs are handled with care and empathy. Voices, pain, emotions are authentic. Prose has an easy, gentle flow that suits the style of the story. Quiet, introspective. show less