Content warning: Abusive relationship.
Twelve-year-old Alba’s home life isn’t great. Her father is abusive to her mother, and her mother seems cold and unloving. Alba feels abandoned when her mother sends her to live with Alba’s grandmother in Barcelona.
Her grandmother has long been estranged from the family; Alba hasn’t seen her since she was a toddler. She’s surprisingly warm, however, and supportive of Alba’s gender-neutral style, unlike Alba’s mother. Alba gradually also makes new friends in the neighborhood, including a possible crush. The most important new figure, however, is Toni, a local baker, who knew her mother in childhood. Alba starts to learn bread making with him, a craft that helps her feel good about herself for perhaps the first time.
When her mother unexpectedly shows up in Barcelona, Alba is worried that her newly happy life might be at risk. And when Toni’s bakery is threatened with closure, things seem even worse. But (without spoiling specifics) this tale of pain, forgiveness, family, and self-discovery ends on a hopeful note. Author Tanya Guerrero treats her characters with care, despite the difficult topics the book explores, and she brings the lively, multicultural setting of Barcelona to life with vivid descriptions.
Alba is Spanish, Filipina, and White.
