I haven't read about a lot of characters with a similar background to Emoni. She's Afro-latina, lives with her grandmother (or Abuela) and is a teen mum. Early in the novel, it's revealed that she named her baby Emma so that people wouldn't be able to judge her or figure out her background before getting to meet her, since this already happens to Emoni.
She had her baby with this guy named Tyrone.
Ever since she became pregnant, she faced a lot of troubles in her relationship with him. He basically turned out to be the type of guy that parents warn their daughter's about.
...When your first love breaks your heart, the shards of that can still draw blood for a long, long time.
Apart from her best friend Angelica, she basically mainly kept to herself in school. However a new guy named Malachi came to school and changed this, though she was definitely cold to him at first.
Reading about Emoni's culinary arts class was pretty interesting. I was pleasantly surprised when Emoni was provided an alternative for a chef's hat.
I stop tucking away the ends of my head scarf. Chef said I could wear this instead of a hat as long as it keeps my hair out of my face and pots. My curls were not fitting under that hat.
And though we have different hair types (she's probably a type 3, rather than a type 4), I wish more was written about her natural hair.
There were moments of conflict, however with her teacher as she would usually tweak things, instead of following the recipe exactly, though her creativity was appreciated.
There was definitely some romance in this book, though it was mainly a hint (some steamy scenes were included, though). I didn't have any major problems with Malachi, though it would have been way more interesting if they kept things platonic.
All in all a refreshing read that can be enjoyed by readers and non readers alike.