I read Clap when You Land by this author a while ago and loved it so I d e s p e r a t e l y wanted to read her other stuff and finally got around to this when I saw it calling out to me at my library.
Emoni is a gifted upcoming chef trying to juggle a job, social life, high school, and being a mom. After becoming pregnant her freshman year of high school, Emoni’s world has revolved around baby Emma, lovingly referred to as Babygirl for most of the book. With both her parents out of the picture (for the most part) Emoni’s only lifeline is her Abuela, who does her best to help out with Babygirl and encourages Emoni to finish high school and go to college.
Emoni is a gifted chef and while she has no formal training, she has a natural talent for pairing ingredients together. After nearly giving up her dream of being a chef, she is offered a cooking elective in her schedule, a chance to work with a real chef and a trip to Spain during Spring Break.
With an interesting new guy at school, a new class, and a possible hope for the future, Emoni takes on Senior Year.
I really appreciate that throughout this book, Acevedo never places shame on Emoni. What happened is more of just a fact and she now has to live where she puts Babygirl’s needs first and hers second.
The characters’ interactions with each other are everything. If you’ve read my blog before, you know the characters are the most important part of the book to me, and I felt a connection to every single one. Emoni had so much determination and resilience, but also so much humanity that I was constantly rooting for things to go her way. Abuela was a woman whom I feel would give the warmest hugs. Angelica is a best friend who would stick with you and defend you through everything. Malachi (the new guy) was sweeter than I thought any straight guy could possibly be. I loved him so much.
Speaking of Malachi, the relationship between him and Emoni is great. They have undeniable chemistry and the slow-burn romance is tooth-rottingly sweet. It felt realistic as due to Emoni’s past experiences, she isn’t sure if she wants a relationship at all. But Malachi never pushes her to go into anything more, he never pushes her to define their relationship or to spend more time with him because he gets that she has an overfilling plate.
Acevado’s writing is gorgeous as per usual. With the way she describes Emoni’s cooking, I would die to eat it. It especially shines when Emoni talks about wanting a good future for Babygirl, “There’s so much I want for her that sometimes I think the seams of my skin aren’t enough to contain every hope I have.” Emoni loves her daughter to the moon and back and it’s obvious throughout the entire book.
Part of me wants a sequel to this book to see a sequel or at least some sort of glimpse into how Emoni and her family are doing, but another part of me doesn’t out of fear that there won’t be that same magic that Acevedo has created here. 5/5