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A review by nicolemhewitt
Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book has a whole lot going for it: a Latina MC stuck between cultures, a cooking competition with life-altering consequences, a lifelong dream that just might get smashed, a hunky (sort of, kind of, almost) stepbrother—and don’t forget his adorable pup. Isa has her life all figured out. Inspired by her late-grandmother’s cooking, she wants to be a world-class chef. The best way to achieve that dream is by winning a competition for an internship with a local famous chef. The only problem is, the further Isa gets into the competition, the more she starts to realize that her dream life as a chef might not match reality. Isa has a lot going on in her life, with her parents’ recent divorce, her father’s remarriage and a baby on the way. The book deals a lot with her complicated feelings about this family dynamic (including the fact that she’s aware her dad cheated), and I liked the fact that there were no cut-and-dry answers about how she should feel. Then there’s Diego, her stepmom’s ultra-infuriating used-to-be stepson. Diego shakes Isa’s life up in ways she was never expecting, and he gets her to start questioning what she really wants for her future. This is such a common theme for teens at this age—trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life is so hard, and sometimes it can seem nearly impossible to figure out if the lifestyle you want will match up with the career you choose. In Isa’s case, she discovers that she might have to give up to much of her own happiness to experience her dream career. Oh, and the book is read filled with delectable food references, so maybe don’t read while hungry!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This book has a whole lot going for it: a Latina MC stuck between cultures, a cooking competition with life-altering consequences, a lifelong dream that just might get smashed, a hunky (sort of, kind of, almost) stepbrother—and don’t forget his adorable pup. Isa has her life all figured out. Inspired by her late-grandmother’s cooking, she wants to be a world-class chef. The best way to achieve that dream is by winning a competition for an internship with a local famous chef. The only problem is, the further Isa gets into the competition, the more she starts to realize that her dream life as a chef might not match reality. Isa has a lot going on in her life, with her parents’ recent divorce, her father’s remarriage and a baby on the way. The book deals a lot with her complicated feelings about this family dynamic (including the fact that she’s aware her dad cheated), and I liked the fact that there were no cut-and-dry answers about how she should feel. Then there’s Diego, her stepmom’s ultra-infuriating used-to-be stepson. Diego shakes Isa’s life up in ways she was never expecting, and he gets her to start questioning what she really wants for her future. This is such a common theme for teens at this age—trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life is so hard, and sometimes it can seem nearly impossible to figure out if the lifestyle you want will match up with the career you choose. In Isa’s case, she discovers that she might have to give up to much of her own happiness to experience her dream career. Oh, and the book is read filled with delectable food references, so maybe don’t read while hungry!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***