All You Knead Is Love

Juvenile fiction 

     "He didn't want me.

     And of course Mom did whatever he wanted.

     So I guess she didn't want me either."

     Imagine you're twelve.  Your home life is no bed of roses.  Your father is physically and psychologically abusive.  Your mother often wears scarves and other accessories to conceal bruises and other injuries.  But they stay together...

     ...In fact it's you your mother sends away.

     Thats what Alba, protagonist of Tanya Guerrero's All You Knead Is Love, has to deal with.  She finds her New York self in Spain, living with a grandmother she only met once when she was three or four.  And not just for a summer vacation.  She doesn't even speak Spanish.

     "What am I supposed to tell her?  That her mother would rather salvage her relationship with her abusive husband than take care of her child?  Is that it, Isabel?  Is that what I should say to her?"

     Alba hears Abuela Lola (her grandmother) on the phone shortly after her arrival.  She wonders if anyone wants her.

     But she's in for some major surprises.  Abuela Lola turns out to be loving, insightful, and supportive.  Alba makes some good friends.  She discovers a passion and talent for baking, tutored by a mentor who owns a bakery.  In fact Spain is beginning to feel like home...

     ...until two earthshaking events happen back to back.  Her mother, who has fled her abusive husband, joins Alba and her grandmother.  The bakery that has become Alba's second home is closing for lack of clients.  

     This time Alba is going to fight for what she loves.  But how much can a kid do?

     Read the book 📖 and see.

On a purrrsonal note, another dreary, drizzly day.  Last night 🌙 would have been my first back at Community Garden for the year.  But we got 🌧 out.  (Jules)

Nice snuggly rainy days.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to this year's community gardeners.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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