Mayra Cuevas

As someone who enjoys cooking, I found this book to be fascinating. It had a bit of everything and never failed to keep my attention.
I also loved how Isa had flashbacks to her time with her grandmother, Lala.
Romance is just weird when it it between step-siblings. Just don't. Please. Snake Eyes would have been a good possibility :-} (I mean, he didn't seem bad at all. I honestly don't know how he earned the nickname.)
However, there was some language and suggestive comments that would have been better left out.
Rating: 4 Stars
Content: 3 Stars
*I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.… (más)

Representation: Latino/a, Black and biracial (half Black and half white) characters
Trigger warnings: Racism, sexist slur, dubious consent, emesis, alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, assault and abuse, depression, anxiety and PTSD mentioned, hurricane in the past, near-death experience, fire, explosions
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

I wanted to read Does My Body Offend You for a while but I never got around to doing so until now. After reading and not enjoying another novel it was time to read this one, so I finally picked it up and read it. Imagine my surprise when I enjoyed Does My Body Offend You, but it has aspects the authors could improve.

It starts with the first two characters I see, Ruby and Malena who live their separate lives until they meet only a few pages in. Malena had to move to Florida after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico and afterwards, she had a sunburn disallowing her to wear a bra. Unfortunately, when Malena went to school, she unknowingly broke the dress code, infuriating Ruby, who then swoops in to solve Malena's predicament. They soon form a plan to change the dress code by making a petition and then convincing people to sign it all within a few days, with Ruby begging for detention, even though she did nothing wrong. Ruby didn't even wear a bra, yet the institution let her get away with it, while Malena describes her body as a flat surfboard which got irritating after she repeats that.

My gripes with Does My Body Offend You lie in the characters. I initially liked Malena until I hit the 200 page mark, and that was when she rubbed me the wrong way, because after Malena and Ruby got people to sign the petition, the former went to a party at some rich privileged person's dwelling, made a questionable decision and was hungover. Really? How old is she? I don't think she's old enough to drink what she drank. I couldn't connect or relate to Ruby from the get go and I struggled to comprehend why she had to do all the dress code overhauling for Malena. Couldn't Malena solve her problem alone? The conclusion was rushed, as Ruby botched her speech by saying the school must abolish the dress code, not thinking of the consequences. One of the antagonists, Dr Hardaway, magically did a 180, which was unrealistic, and all Malena did was write a poem, petering out Does My Body Offend You.

To summarise, Does My Body Offend You showed promise, but while it was enjoyable, some aspects of it slightly frustrated me and it could be a better read with some alterations.… (más)

FROM AMAZON: A slow-burn romance in a cutthroat kitchen!

There’s more to becoming a top chef for 17-year-old Isabella Fields than just not getting chopped...especially when the chances of things heating up with an intriguing boy and becoming a food star in the kitchen are both on the chopping block.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet:

Is a YA contemporary #OwnVoices novel written by CNN producer Mayra Cuevas
Is a perfect book for foodies ages 13 and up and features a Latina main character who is trilingual
Explores complicated family dynamics and relatable themes of friendship, acceptance, and learning to care for yourself
Aspiring chef Isa’s family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. And after moving in with her dad and her new stepmom, Margo, in Lyon, France, Isa feels like an outsider in her father’s new life. She balances her time between avoiding the awkward “why-did-you-cheat-on-Mom” conversation with figuring out how a perpetually single woman can at least be a perpetually single chef.

The upside of Isa’s world being turned upside down?

Her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigiously competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isa who is desperate to get her life back in order - and desperate to prove she has what it takes to work in an haute kitchen. But Isa’s stress and repressed grief begin to unravel when the attractive, enigmatic Diego shows up unannounced with his albino dog.

How can Isa expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and things with the mysterious Diego reach a boiling point?

Learn more about the food featured in Salty, Bitter, Sweet with Isa’s kitchen notes, available in the audiobook companion PDF download.… (más)

This story is messy, but in the way a good story can be. Two girls, from completely different backgrounds come together when one is shamed by the school administration. Malena is living in Florida with her mom, separated from her beloved dad who stayed behind in Puerto Rico to help deal with the aftermath of hurricane damage. When her back becomes so sunburned she can't wear a bra to school, she's subjected to the humiliation of having to tape pantyliners over her nipples. Ruby, dealing with her own insecurities thanks to a move from Seattle to care for her grandmother, and an overachieving older sister, finds Malena in the bathroom trying to figure out how to get the liners in place.
What ensues involves civil disobedience, a national uproar over the inequitable way the school handles the dress code, melt downs, Ruby getting groped and going into her shell as a result, sparks between her and Malena's baseball star cousin, and a very satisfying finale. The events and confrontations in the story will really resonate with a lot of teens, not just girls. Well worth having in any library where good reads for teens are valued.… (más)