Ana Maria Ybarra wants to become a pastry chef and go to culinary school in Paris after she finishes high school. Unfortunately her parents have very Ana Maria Ybarra wants to become a pastry chef and go to culinary school in Paris after she finishes high school. Unfortunately her parents have very different ideas for her future.
Her father wants Ana Maria to take over the struggling family bakery--and the family feud that goes with it. Café Y Mas and Morales Bakery have been bitter rivals for decades, ever since the Morales family refused to credit Ana Maria's grandfather for recipes he developed at Morales Bakery before starting his own business. Thanks to their abomination the dessert burrito the Morales Bakery is thriving while Café Y Mas struggles to keep their delivery truck from literally catching fire.
Meanwhile, her mother wants Ana Maria to go to college for a more secure career--even arranging a visit to UCLA over the summer. But Ana's only takeaway from the visit is that she didn't miss much by skipping the tour to explore the city with a cute guy. Also in retrospect maybe she should have exchanged contact information with Miguel, even if it would have ruined the magic of their perfect day together.
None of which is going to interfere with Ana Maria's plan to win a recipe competition to help fund her culinary school dreams.
Ana Maria is still trying to figure out her scholarship application--including how to make her food photos more exciting and less brown--when, against all odds, Miguel shows up in her small town. It feels like the best kind of magic until Ana Maria learns the horrible truth: Miguel is a Morales cousin.
Everyone in Port Murphy knows that Ybarras and Moraleses do not associate. They certainly don't fall for each other. But Miguel's family doesn't change anything about the chemistry Ana Maria feels with him. Or his tantalizing offer to help Ana Maria up her social media game for her application.
Working together in secret, Miguel helps Ana Maria create new footage and photos while she develops what she hopes will be a winning recipe. But keeping Miguel at a distance is hard when his cute face is right there and she finds herself liking him even more as they get to know each other.
With her dreams and her heart on the line, Ana Maria has to figure out how to let go of family expectations to choose her own path in Guava and Grudges (2024) by Alexis Castellanos.
Guava and Grudges is Castellanos' novel debut following her wordless graphic novel Isla to Island. The audiobook features a breezy narration by Marisa Blake. Ana Maria and Miguel are Cuban American--an identity that heavily informs Ana Maria's backstory especially when it comes to navigating the mostly white town of Port Newport where Ana Maria has spent most of her life going by Amy (pulled from her initials) rather than having her non-Spanish-speaking classmates butcher the pronunciation of her name.
Ana Maria's first person narration is snappy and filled with fun details about all of her delectable creations as she bakes her way toward the final competition. A supporting cast including Ana Maria's younger sister Sofia and best friend Rose add dimension to the story and make the world Castellanos has created here feel lived in with characters that feel like old friends. With plenty of banter and the excellent bakery setting, Guava and Grudges is a as delectable as Ana Maria's culinary creations (even if readers might suspect early on that Ana Maria and Miguel will overcome their differences). Check the back of the book for a recipe from Castellanos inspired by the book and be sure to have some baked goods on hand while reading.
Guava and Grudges is a sweet story about big dreams and big risks where Cuban culture and heritage take center stage. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao, That's Debatable by Jen Doll, Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan, The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar, A Pho Love Story by Loan Le, Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno, With Love, Echo Park by Laura Taylor Namey, What's Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park, The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park, Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher and through Libro.fm for review consideration*...more
I have been dragging myself through this one but I think the truth might be that I’m at manga capacity with Yona of the Dawn and Witch Hat Atelier becI have been dragging myself through this one but I think the truth might be that I’m at manga capacity with Yona of the Dawn and Witch Hat Atelier because I am still not sure I care about this series? I think what I'm really struggling with is the portrayal of Yor (and Yuri--still creepy AF) but also developmentally I don't think Anya and the rest of her class make sense as first graders so it's really pushing my willing suspension of disbelief on that front....more
Loading...
