As part of the Teen Volunteer Program, Alexis wrote a review of a teen fiction title. See Alexis' thoughts on Guava and Grudges by Alexis Castellanos below, then check out the book for yourself and decide if you agree!
Guava and Grudges is about a teenage girl named Ana Maria Ybarra who is struggling to balance her family’s expectations with her own personal dreams of becoming a chef in Paris. Her family owns a bakery named Cafe Y Mas in a small town where they have a generational rivalry with a neighboring bakery named Morales Bakery. Ana meets a boy, Miguel, who inspires her to prioritize her own ambitions as she works toward developing a new recipe for a baking competition that will get her the money to achieve her goals.
This book was delightful because it explored themes of adolescence and how dramatic it can really seem at times. It emphasized Ana’s Cuban heritage through her dialogue within her family and the special traditional recipes and foods that she referenced throughout the book. It’s a great book for showing personal growth within a strict system and the courage that it sometimes takes to strive for your own independence and identity.
I would recommend Guava and Grudges to teenagers who feel as though they don’t have the space to express themselves to the fullest extent and want to explore the relatable way in which Ana overcomes familial issues and gains self-confidence. It also has a heavy theme of romance between Ana and Miguel, so I would recommend it to teenagers that are attracted to high school romance and the drama that it sometimes entails.
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