An Appetite for Miracles
by Laekan Zea Kemp
High School    Little, Brown    448 pp.
4/23    9780316461733    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780316461948    $10.99

This novel in verse is told from the perspectives of Danna and Raúl, who meet when Raúl and his uncle play music as therapy for Danna’s grandfather, who has dementia. They are enamored with each other that first day, but Danna fully wins Raúl over on his next visit with her homemade chorreadas de piloncillo. Kemp employs striking food metaphors and similes to create a warm image of young love (“I didn’t know / you could see [love] / glittering in the crust / of a cookie”) as well as a poignant perspective on the experience of caring for a loved one with dementia. Danna fears losing not just her grandfather but also his memories as a food writer. She is at least somewhat comforted when she finds his journals that reveal “a portrait of / an appetite— / even older than I am— / …for adventure and romance and a satisfaction / you can taste.” Danna considers herself the poet, but Raúl’s sections use verse more effectively, especially in conveying his relationship with his mother; she and Raúl are both survivors of domestic violence, and she has recently returned from two years of incarceration. Fans of Acevedo’s The Poet X (rev. 3/18) will appreciate this novel’s similar style and themes, which also touch on religion, body image, and Latine identity.

Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.