What YA' Reading: Delicious fiction
When we talk about books with food, we usually think about cookbooks. However, there are lots of entertaining fiction books related to food. Here are a few of my favorites.
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
When Emoni cooks she can relax and turn food into pure magic. However, she has a lot of responsibilities on her plate – school, raising her 2-year-old daughter and managing her ex-boyfriend's visits with their daughter. Can she keep dreaming of working in a real kitchen one day?
I highly recommend this heart-felt story that made me feel Emoni's struggles and her successes. She's a character you will think about long after you finish the book.
“With the Fire on High is a worthy follow-up to Acevedo’s nationally lauded debut. Emoni’s headstrong perseverance is inspiring. Acevedo’s clever imagery and explorations of language and culture make the journey not only beautiful, but thought-provoking.” — Entertainment Weekly
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
In this fantasy makeover of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland you'll follow Cath as she tries to fulfill her dream of opening a bakery to sell her tarts. This is even more of the challenge since she is set to be the next queen. When she meets the handsome and mysterious court joker, Jest, her life is thrown for a loop.
“The author’s best fantasy yet. . . . Meyer has woven all the elements of darkness and light, fate and free will, and love and hatred into an unforgettable story of the evolution of the Red Queen from a young girl who dreamed of true love and freedom to a madwoman best remembered for the phrase 'Off with his head.' If you only read one fractured fairy tale this year, make it Heartless. A must-have title.” ―School Library Journal
Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan
Fallon and Chloe used to be best friends. Then they hooked up. Now they haven't spoken since last summer when Fallon left for college and Chloe stayed to finish her senior year of high school. Fallon's back for the summer and desperate to avoid the humiliation of running into Chloe, even though she loves her.
Unfortunately, Fallon and Chloe's mothers co-own an ice cream food truck and need the girls to drive it across country together to a food truck festival. Get ready for some awkward conversations, misunderstandings, an entertaining road trip and hopefully a repaired relationship – at least friends if not more.
"Dugan’s unhurried friends-to-lovers tale effectively captures blossoming summer romance while serving as a reminder that 'sometimes what seems like a mistake can turn out to be the most fun you’ve ever had.'" —Publishers Weekly
