An Appetite for Miracles

Mexican high schooler Danna Mendoza Villareal navigates grief, love, and memory in this gutting yet hopeful verse novel by Kemp (Heartbreak Symphony). After finding a personal book of recipes and food reviews written by their grandfather, who has dementia, Danna and her cousin Victoria reintroduce him to each dish, intending to help him recall his lost memories. But Danna’s mother sours this plan, constantly commenting about Danna’s weight and monitoring the teen’s eating habits. Meanwhile, Raúl Santos, alongside his pastor uncle, acts as a “human jukebox” for their community’s elderly, believing that “through the power of music,/ we lead people/ back to the life/ they once had.” Though Raúl seems effortlessly effervescent, he carries private heartache over his mother’s wrongful imprisonment two years prior. When Danna and Raúl meet, sparks fly, and together they discover the joys of first love and inspire each other to look ahead to their futures, even as they’re preoccupied with the past. By employing layered characterizations and dual perspectives rendered in lyrical prose, Kemp skillfully examines themes of anti-fat bias, generational trauma, and the prison-industrial complex, while simultaneously cultivating a tender love story. Ages 14–up. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (Apr.)