An Appetite for Miracles

by Laekan Zea Kemp

Danna Mendoza Villarreal’s grandfather is slowly losing himself as his memories fade, and Danna’s not sure her plan to help him remember through the foods he once reviewed will be enough to bring him back. Especially when her own love of food makes her complicated relationship with her mother even more difficult.Raul Santos has been lost ever since his mother was wrongly incarcerated two years ago. Playing guitar for the elderly has been his only escape, to help them remember and him forget. But when his mom unexpectedly comes back into his life, what is he supposed to do when she isn’t the same person who left?When Danna and Raul meet, sparks fly immediately and they embark on a mission to heal her grandfather…and themselves. Because healing is something best done together—even if healing doesn’t always look the way we want it to.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Poetry, Contemporary, Novel In Verse, Mental Health, Food

464 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2023

About the author

Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her debut novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet was a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor Recipient. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Her work celebrates Chicane grit, resilience, creativity, and joy while exploring themes of identity and mental health.

Find her on social media @LaekanZeaKemp
http://www.laekanzeakemp.com/

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The food descriptions in this had my mouth watering, sad I can't have Danna's 🍪 cookies too *pouts*

This was just a beautiful novel all around, was drawn into these people right away and didn't want to leave them.

Love, grief, anger, helplessness, hope, resolve, laughter,music, food, forgiveness... I have trouble describing the feelings running through my head right now.

Under all of these there was this... electric current, that connected everything as it pulsed back and forth , push and pull.

Gah, still not coming out the way I want it to.. I'll just say I highly recommend this one.

My favorite book of August so far.

[Toya (thereadingchemist) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third book by this author, and I’ve LOVED every single one. ⁣
⁣
This coming of age, novel in verse follows Danna (a teen desperate to hang on to her grandfather as he battles dementia) and Raúl (a teen who’s been trying to get by after his mother was wrongly incarcerated two years prior). ⁣
⁣
While there are some light hearted moments such as Danna’s amazing cooking and watching Danna and Raúl, this book deals with some really heavy topics and is heart wrenching. ⁣
⁣
However, I thoroughly loved both Danna’s and Raúl’s story as the two of them are on quests to healing. From the beginning, I couldn’t help but root for these two. And while there is so much grief and sadness throughout this story, there is also finding love and hope. ⁣

Thank you to The Novl for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

[Marybeth Buskirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about bravery, familial love, young love, grief, and intergenerational trauma and the healing that begins to start when both parties are willing to work on the pain and hurt they’ve caused each other. This novel is told in verse and dual POV and it created such a beautiful timeline bringing both characters to life with such vibrancy and color that just struck my heart strings in such a deep way. My favorite part was Danna’s relationship with her grandfather, it was just written in a way that I related to so very much and truly brought the grandfather and granddaughter bond to the forefront and as someone who has a pop pop who gained his angel wings, I shared the grief with Danna. I loved this book so very much.

[Laura Namey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this treasure of a verse novel. Moving, well-developed, and so gorgeous. One of my favorites from Laekan!

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning teen novel in verse that was mouthwatering and profound. Danna is slowly losing her grandfather to dementia, it's taking away her favorite person and she is determined to hang on to him for as long as she can. She cooks his favorite meals and gets the food he so lovingly wrote about when he was a food writer. Sometimes he comes back for a minute, sometimes an hour, sometimes it has no effect.
Raul is a mediocre student who just wants to play the guitar so he can forget about the fact that his mom is locked up in prison. When he and his uncle go to Danna's house to sing and play guitar as part of music therapy he and Danna form an instant connection. Their teenaged lives are in turmoil and through food, prayer, and friendship things will work out. Not the way they planned it, but they will work out. Beautiful writing; it's impossible not to get hungry while reading this. It's practically a love letter to food and the memories it can store for us.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another heartfelt YA romance with a lot of depth that tackles some tough topics, including a parent in prison and a grandparent with Alzheimer's disease. I enjoyed that this was a novel in verse story that worked really well on audio and the connection formed between granddaughter Danna and Raul, the boy who volunteers his guitar playing services to provide music therapy was electric. Sweet, swoony and tender, this was a feel good story that might make you cry. Recommended for fans of How Moon Fuentez fell in love with the universe.

[Michelle Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book about music and the ways it brings people together and also the way alzheimers is talked about. <3

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another audiobook read!
Honestly, I'm a sucker for novels written in verse or prose. While YA is definitely not my favourite genre, I did enjoy this book. It was a sad and sweet (heartfelt and tender) coming-of-age story about two kids experiencing difficult situations and finding healing together. Lots of emotion, and heavy topics lightened with love and with hope. I also really enjoy books with more than one POV, so I definitely appreciated getting to read both Danna's and Raúl's, and how they intertwined!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story about two teenagers who come together to heal from the pains in their past.

[Meliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I love verse novels, and this was a great one. Poignant and sad and sweet. Great characters. I definitely teared up several times.

[caro | sanjariti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laekan Zea Kemp has written some of my favorite books ever. Her debut, Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet, was absolutely incredible. And with An Appetite for Miracles, she has returned to remind readers just how skilled she is at her craft. Storytelling is her superpower.

I love Kemp's writing because it envelops me in a nostalgia for my culture. As a Mexican-American who sometimes feels completely isolated from their culture while living in the United States, Kemp's representation and stories make me very nostalgic and reminiscent of my favorite parts of Mexican culture. An Appetite for Miracles goes one step further, and not only makes me miss my grandparents who have passed (and reminds me of my abuelita who is currently suffering from advanced dementia), but also mirrors much of my own extremely difficult relationship with my immigrant mother, who, like Danna's mother, don't know how to love their children without hurting them in the process.

This novel-in-verse is well-written - it captures so much raw emotion and honest reflection in poetic form, and Kemp effortlessly crafts two relatable characters whose experiences and thoughts are very realistic for teens struggling with the weight of being true to themselves while appeasing the adults in their lives.

Danna's character reminded me so much of my teen self, so reading this story cover-to-cover felt like a therapy session and a moment of healing from my inner child, all in one. Her love for food, her struggles with her self esteem and image; the distorted, complicated relationship with her mother - I saw myself in it all. But especially, her love for her abuelo, and her fear and pain surrounding his dementia and losing him forever.

Now, I don't want to get too personal and deep about it, but I also want to be honest. My personal vendetta against dementia is that it has robbed me of the chance to know my abuelita. It feels like a personal attack against me, since I lost my paternal abuelito when I was nine years old, and only saw my maternal grandparents twice in my lifetime before they both passed away during university. My paternal abuelita's dementia began to advance when I was in high school, and now, she remembers nothing.

I never got a chance to hear stories about her life; stories about my father, my uncles and aunts when they were growing up. I never got to ask her her favorite color, or her favorite food. Or about her own family. Her childhood. I never got the chance to bond with her before I lost her. And it hurts too much to grieve a person who is still here. And yet, that's what dementia does. It steals loved ones away and forces people to grieve an unexpected loss. And it really, really hurts.

Raul's character was really great. I connected with him almost immediately upon meeting him, and I understood a lot of what he was feeling and struggling with. Feeling lost, like there is no reason to continue on with the day to day. And especially the feeling of not recognizing your own parent, and struggling to understand what changed, and why it feels so much like it's all your fault.

Raul and Danna's relationships with God and their faith was refreshing to see - I appreciated their individual reflections about faith. How their beliefs and ways of practicing need only matter to them, and just because others don't understand their relationship with God, doesn't mean it's not meaningful or fulfilling.

Danna and Raul's relationship, and the way each of them relies on the other throughout the story, was nicely done. I think it was an accurate portrayal of most teen relationships - instalove, head over heels obsessed. And yet, their blossoming romance, and friendship, was healthy and supportive. Both of them supported the other in the best way they could, even when they were hurting too.

Overall, this story broke me apart and healed me at the same time. I cannot thank Laekan enough for writing these painfully beautiful stories that make me, and many other readers, feel seen and understood in a way no one else will.

[Sharon Velez Diodonet · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Because there are people in our lives;
rare
unexpected
people
that don't just walk
beside us
through life
they witness
our lives
too."

Laekan Zea Kemp knocked it out of the park again with this YA novel in verse, An Appetite for Miracles. This one explores young love, mother-daughter relationships, the process of dementia, incarceration of a parent and trauma, fatphobia and the gift of food and music. This story made my heart hurt from the very beginning and the way Kemp still managed to weave beauty into despair, and grief won me over. The way Kemp writes about healing through food is unmatched.

Novels in verse are becoming a favorite because they give the option to take in so much emotion and storytelling in pieces. Poetry makes language come to life in unique ways. This one is perfect for National Poetry Month and for fans of foodie books. Thanks to @littlebrown @hearourvoicestours for the gifted copy.

Books that are in coversation with this one are:
📕 Iveliz Explains It All by @andreabeatrizarango
📗 A Cuban Girls Guide to Tea and Tomorrow @laurataylornamey
📙 With the Fire on High by @acevedowrites

[dovesnook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything Laekan Zea Kemp touches turns to gold. This was different from her other works, but no less beautiful. It’s easy to see how inspired Zeno’s writing is. I loved going on this little magical journey with both leads. There are some hard topics explored in An Appetite for Miracles, all which felt real to a teen’s exploration of them— lots of ups and downs, and everything in between. There were a lot of moments that had me like “OOF😔” and others that made me feel like: 🌸☺️💗🌷. Definitely recommend picking this one up!

I fully think we needed a voice like Zemp’s in YA.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Little, Brown BFYR (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

I had high hopes for this book after reading Kemp's debut, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet (one of my favorite books of 2021), and I was not disappointed!

I can usually tell I'm going to give a book 5 stars if it makes me cry, and I spent probably the last third of this one with tears in my eyes 🥲 I loved both Raúl and Danna, and their stories, separate and together, were the perfect blend of sad and sweet. Both of them were dealing with losing a family member (albeit in different ways), and both of them had very complicated relationships with their mothers. They bonded over that very quickly and out of it came a very sweet romance.

I also loved Danna's relationship with food, and by extension, her relationship with her grandfather. It was something she and her grandfather always had in common. Despite her mother's shaming comments about Danna's eating habits and body, Danna doesn't let that diminish her enjoyment of eating and baking (to be fair, at the end I get where Mami was coming from and it makes complete sense--although it doesn't excuse it or negate the damage she does to her daughter and I'm glad she goes to therapy so she can learn not to take out her issues on Danna). Over the course of the book Danna learns to love her body as it is and for what it does for her instead of what her mother wants it to be, which I think is a powerful and important message.

One thing I really liked and want to mention specifically is what both Danna and Raúl's school experiences were like. They don't spend a lot of time at school in the book, but I thought it was very interesting how Kemp wrote their experiences. Both Danna and Raúl have a LOT going on in their personal lives that, obviously, have an effect on their school life. Danna gets detention, which is led by a teacher who sleeps through the whole thing. But she knows more about the students in there (and WHY they're there) than the teachers do--after-school jobs, things going on at home, etc. She makes the small gesture of giving homemade treats to all the kids in detention with her to show that someone cares about them, even if it seems like none of the adults in their lives do.

And Raúl starts having trouble at school when his mother returns home because her nightmares wake him up at night. There is a stark difference in how his teachers treat him when he falls asleep in class; one treats him as a lazy kid who doesn't care, while another notices that this behavior isn't normal for Raúl and decides to (subtly) check in with him. I thought these parts were really interesting and important to include because I know, as someone who worked with kids for years, that this is SO ACCURATE. Kids deal with so much outside of school that their teachers may never know about, and school is not always the most important thing. Most of the time they just need empathy or someone to listen. If a kid is falling asleep in class, there's probably a reason, especially if it's not something that they usually do. I just really appreciated the inclusion of these scenes because it is a reality for so many kids, and a moment of kindness from a teacher can really go a long way.

Overall, I really loved this book. Which you can probably tell by the rambly review 😅 If you're a fan of novels in verse, or if you liked Kemp's debut, or even if you just like contemporary YA, please check this one out

[D.J. Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily my favorite book so far this year. I went to the library to return a book, and meandered through the aisles grabbing new books to take home. Because my granddaughter was with me, I also headed past the YA books. This book was on the New Books shelf. Of all the books I borrowed on that trip, it's the only one to make it onto my "going to read" table. I definitely had an appetite for it, and I finished it within 24 hours. When I opened the book up and saw it was in verse, I almost didn't give it a chance, but then Kemp pulled me into the story. I did read the 2 and 3 star reviews and they did not convince me to lower my rating.
1) Some readers were left with questions about Danna's family or other troubling issues. I'm not sure I expect any novel to fully explain everything, and I definitely don't expect a poem to do so. Unanswered questions lead to good discussions.
2) Some thought it was too long. It's not 900 pages (hyperbole on that reviewer's part) and the 440 pages are written in verse. That means a lot of space on each page. I ate it up.
3) I liked the complex characters. I liked the issues Kemp raises. I love the artwork inside and out.
4) I'm buying my own copy of the book.
5) Would my mother read it? I don't think my mom reads verse; however, my mom would struggle with the faith doubts which the two main characters have. In which case she would need to keep reading to understand why those doubts are occurring and she would need to recognize that they are legitimate.
Additional notes: There is grieving in this book (I know...what is it about me that attracts grief books). My father and grandmother both died with their minds totally gone from the devastation that Alzheimer's brings. While my grief and the Alzheimer's disease in my family might have looked a little different, I didn't read anything in Kemp's book which would make me think she did a poor job of expressing the tragedy of the disease. I cried while reading the book, and I enjoyed the book. (See #4 up above.) I liked this literature. If I were still teaching, I would have this book read by my students.

[Christen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story so much. I picked it up because I was in the mood for a romantic read, but wow this book was so much more than that. In addition to first love, this book also included important themes involving family, culture, grief, trauma, generational conflicts, body image and more. Music and food were both very important roles in the story, giving our characters hope and relying on these two senses to aid in their grief, memories and enjoyment of life. I love how the author used music as prayer and food as a tapestry, something each character mentions (Raul loves music, Danna food). I haven’t yet read “Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet” which I believe involves food, or “Heartbreak Symphony” which involves music, but I love how this book heavily included both. I will definitely be reading those two books as well at some point. I highly recommend this one, and I’m so glad I read it. I’m currently grieving as well, and music, food, and books are my medicine. I’m so glad this book was part of my grieving process.

[vy (laufey’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve never actually found a book that describes the essence of humanity better than this one; the good, the bad, and the mundanities that plague us. five stars because why the fuck did laekan zea kemp plant cameras in my house and decide to call out all my mommy issues 🤠

thoughts? collected. hotel? trivago. anygays.

kemp’s prose is so, so beautiful. you lose yourself in it, even more so if you’re reading on an empty stomach (ill-advised). both danna and miguel are teenagers with weighty troubles burdening their sixteen years, both some variation of mommy issues that i relate too much to. maybe it’s an immigrant mom thing to criticize your kid’s body and always make sure they get good grades. i don’t know. but yeah i genuinely loved every character in this book, they were so easy to fall for. the setting too *squeals* i love austin. i want food. i was hungry throughout the 6-hour duration of this audiobook which was probably a crime.

kemp tackled a lot of important topics in today’s world with indulging humor and sensitivity, making us root for the characters. i cried at the whole “your shape is wrong and you should cover up to not distract men” because i’ve sat through that lecture way too many times and it’s getting annoying, but it’s so refreshing to see my thoughts transcribed onto paper and know that it’s a universal experience. if that’s ever happened to you, i’m really really sorry. one day, you won’t have to go home, you can carve out your own path in the world and find people who appreciate you for who you truly are. this entire book was that feeling: a brutal slap of reality, mixed with hope and acceptance and finding someone who loves every part of you, no matter how dark or hidden.

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy to see more books-in-verse coming out! This is definitely a solid one and would make such a lovely addition to any classroom. It wasn’t my favorite, but I do think I would probably appreciate it more if I read it a second time and/or read the physical book and not the audio. I liked having two POVs, but I preferred Raúl’s story more.

4⭐️

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this story to be written in free verse but I loved it! I thought that the power of free poetry really shined with that style for this story. The connection between Raul and Danna is powerful. I loved the way these characters connected and how you could sense all of their emotions revolving around love, grief, and trauma.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written in free verse. This YA book is appropriate for 14 and above. The characters deal with a parent in prison, a grandparent with Alzheimer's, body shaming, and date rape. The author does all of this with dignity and care. Wonderful connections to famous food spots in Austin, Texas and you can learn some Spanish in the process.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. What a beautiful book written in verse with alternatives pov from Danna and Raul beautiful intertwined together. About love, loss, and even grief.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous. The writing sometimes stopped me cold and I had to re-read a passage. A beautiful novel-in-verse about two teenagers, one losing her grandfather to dementia, and one whose mom just came back after two years in prison. A very gentle love story, but really more about how these teenagers are dealing with the trauma in their lives.

[Emily Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. It flows and entices you to follow where it leads. Laekan Zea Kemp harnesses words and presents them like a perfect bite of food that transports you to a precise treasured memory.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked the most with this one was the writing. The author was original with her descriptive strokes. I loved her way with words.

While the story line was just okay for me, I don't mind rounding up to 3 stars because I enjoyed that part so much.

[Kashaf Rafique · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Appetite for Miracles is written in poetry style. It is very beautifully penned. Chapters are short, precise, and to the point. Every word is impactful and brimming with emotions. I loved this book! 100% recommended.

[Amani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a whole blog post on this that has all of my thoughts on it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
We love a good book in verse

[Nicole Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

CWs: dementia, toxic parents, mention of rape (brief and not graphic), body shaming and fatphobia, death of a loved one

This was an absolutely incredible novel in verse that touched my heart even deeper than I expected. It is heartbreaking, raw, real, beautiful, and so hopeful. It took my breath away. The writing is amazing & so are the characters. Absolutely recommend!!!!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I read a novel in verse, and this one reminded me of how good it can be when it’s done well. I LOVED THIS.

[LaDawn Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written.