Prasetya Nababan

Salt and Sugar

Book by Rebecca Carvalho

DETAILS

Publisher : Inkyard Press; Original edition (November 1, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 400 pages ISBN-10 : 1335454330 ISBN-13 : 978-1335454331 Reading age : 13 - 17 years Grade level : 7 - 9 Item Weight : 14.9 ounces , The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud in this delicious debut rom-com perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Gloria Chao. Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas. Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close. Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another? Read more

REVIEW

Lari’s family owns Salt, a bakery focused on savory foods in Olinda, Brazil. Salt is directly across the street from Sugar, a sweet-goods bakery owned by the Molina family, who have been in a feud since a Molina, Lari’s great-grandmother’s best friend, betrayed their partnership by selling their secret recipe. Now Lari can’t stand the Molinas, especially their son, Pedro, who has bullied her since she was a kid. But when Lari’s beloved grandmother passes away and the neighborhood is threatened by a big chain supermarket trying to take over, Lari finds herself in a strange position. Could she and Pedro work together to unite their families against the supermarket trying to put both bakeries out of business? The trajectory of this book is pretty clear from the first page - two sworn enemies will have to team up to save their family businesses and will fall in love in the process. That being said, the book wasn’t without surprises. There were several moments when Carvalho took an unexpected path toward and expected outcome that kept me interested. Honestly, the romance was sweet, but my favorite parts of this book were the Brazilian setting, which I so rarely see in YA, and all of the mouth-watering descriptions of Brazilian foods. I felt transported to another place through the descriptions of the baked goods, both savory and sweet, that Pedro and Lari were cooking up. I would definitely recommend eating this book with a snack on hand!

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