ALL YOU KNEAD IS LOVE

Twelve-year-old Alba Green is sent to Barcelona to live with her estranged grandmother.

Ever since she was a little girl, Alba has been running away. She always returned home to her cold, indifferent mother and abusive father, though, because she had nowhere else to go. When Alba’s mother sends her away to Barcelona to live with the maternal grandmother she hasn’t seen since she was small, thanks to her father’s controlling behavior, Alba at first meets her Abuela Lola’s warmth and kindness with suspicion. Slowly, however, she begins to accept her new reality, making friends and learning to bake bread with the owner of the local bakery. Despite feeling lost and unsure of herself, Alba grows in confidence—not only in terms of her gender-neutral personal style, which her parents disapproved of, but also in her passion for bread-making—and she begins to carve out small moments of happiness for herself. Everything comes to a halt when an unexpected visitor arrives in Barcelona and Alba learns her favorite bakery is in jeopardy. Layered with explorations of topics such as family dynamics, abuse, and identity, Alba’s first-person narrative is one of growth, forgiveness, and acceptance. Vivid descriptions of people, places, aromas, and food bring to life a colorful and beautiful multicultural neighborhood in Spain where English, Spanish, Catalan, Tagalog, and Mandarin intermingle. Alba is one-quarter Spanish, one-quarter Filipina, and presumably half White.

A delightful read.