The own-voices novel Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas is a journey through various countries, kitchens, and a whole map of confusing feelings.
Isa loves to cook. The kitchen is her happy place ever since her Lala taught her how to magically transform food into a beacon of love back in America. After Lala’s death, Isa moves to Lyon, France, with her dad and his new family, to attend a competition for a chance to win an apprenticeship in the world famous Chef Grattard’s kitchen.
The expectations are tough, the competition is even tougher and Isa loses herself in her quest to become a great chef herself and her dream of three Michelin stars. She is determined in her mission, which means that she is utterly irritated when she is faced with a handsome stranger and his dog. Even more so when she finds out that they will also be living in her dad’s house.
What’s even worse, while she tries to keep afloat in the competition, she has to face some realities that she had tried so hard to shut out: Her insecurities about her parent’s nasty divorce and the question of where she fits in in this new family dynamic, her overwhelming grief for her abuela, and the question of what will truly make her happy.
The Nerd Daily was lucky enough to talk to author Mayra Cuevas over the most important parts of Isa’s story, her own experiences with food and cooking, and her involvement in the Las Musas community – a collective of female identifying Latinx authors for children’s books.
Salty, Bitter, Sweet is very international and the story takes us all over the globe. What made you choose these particular cities and countries for you novel?
I travel a lot both for work and because I love to travel. I love getting to know new cultures, trying different foods and visiting different places. For me, it’s really important to be a citizen of the world and to connect and learn from other people as much as possible. That comes across in my writing. Additionally, I think that this new generation is very globally-minded and internationally attuned, so I wanted to give readers the opportunity to visit some of these places through the story.
The book is set mostly in France because I wanted to raise the stakes for Isa as much as possible and Lyon is the gastronomic capital of the world. I wanted to set this book in this food Mecca, because there, you have to be better than the best.
Isa herself is mixed-raced and has trouble feeling like she belongs anywhere. How vital do you think is the representation of Latinx characters in novels; and do you think a lot of people can relate to Isa in that regard?
First, the part about representation. In the U.S., only 5% of children’s books published, represent a Latina or Latino character. Out of those 5%, only 34% are actually written or illustrated by a Latina or Latino author. We need to increase representation and this is why I love organizations like Las Musas, because we are helping each other and also promoting future Latina authors through mentorship programs like Las Hermanas.
The second part of this question is the feeling that you don’t belong. For those of us who are part of multi-cultural households, it can be a little difficult to figure out where you fit in. I, for example, was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but after I left college, I moved to the U.S., a very different cultural landscape. And now I’m married to a Midwestern and have step kids who grew up in the South. It’s all very convoluted! So, there is this tug of asking: am I Puerto Rican enough? Latina enough? American enough? The question of identity becomes really, really complicated.
Teen books must explore these themes of identity, because at that age, you get pulled into so many different directions and you’re just trying to figure out who you are. Whether it is about your cultural background, your religious beliefs or your sexual orientation, it is important that young adult books are exploring these things in a safe space.
Isa uses cooking as a coping mechanism to block out issues she doesn’t want to deal with. Does that come from your own experience?
Isa is having a very difficult time, and like any normal person, she turns to the one thing she loves the most as a coping mechanism, as a way to deal.
She is so overwhelmed that all she can do is control this little world in the kitchen that she has created for herself. But what ends up happening is that she starts isolating herself from the people around her, who love her and want to help her and who want to build a community with her.
Thankfully, as Isa progresses as a character, she starts realizing that she is part of a loving community and that she’s got to give love back as a member of that community.
The actual plot in the book is fictional, but the feelings that Isa experiences are based on my life. When I was growing up, my parents went through a horrible divorce. I suffered from a lot of depression and anxiety and I poured all of these feelings into books. My coping mechanism was reading and writing. I would read all of these amazing works of Latin American literature that are just absolutely beautiful and that transport you to all these places. They gave me a moment of refuge from everything that was going on at home. And I also wrote poetry, which I think is a great way to express yourself when you’re going through a difficult time because it allows you to explore your feelings as you put them into writing.
In Salty, Bitter, Sweet we meet several strong women characters. Isa, the other girls from the cooking program, the instructor and Isa’s Lala for example. How important is it to portray strong female relationships in YA fiction?
This book is about women helping women and about women lifting other women up. In the book, Isa is going through this transformation of thinking that her success is independent from everybody to realizing that she is part of a loving community and that her success is very much interdependent from everyone else. So by her supporting the other girls, she is supporting herself.
By the end of the book Isa will also learn the true meaning of success. That you can find success on your own terms without having to measure yourself by other’s benchmarks of success. I’m telling girls everywhere, we need to ask ourselves what do I want? And what is important to me? And let that be our guide. Otherwise, in the end, we’re not going to be happy and we’re going to be striving for things that are meaningless to us.
The first sentence in the book is “Happiness, like love, arrives through the kitchen”. What do you like to cook for your loved ones?
That’s a tough question because I love, love, love to cook. It’s very meditative for me. Food is love so I like to figure out what the people around me like best. My husband is from the Midwest and he loves apple pie, so I love making that for him. My youngest step-son loves omelettes, so every time he comes over, I try and make him his favourite omelettes. My oldest step-son likes fried chicken, so I make that for him. Food is a way of connecting, of bringing people to the table in a celebration of life and love. It’s also a vehicle for us to keep family traditions and our heritage, like Lala does in the book. Lala wrote the story of her life in recipes. If we love food, our life is sometimes is marked by these special meals. They become very significant.
Did you base Lala on one of your own grandmas?
Lala is a combination of both of my grandmothers. My abuela Josefa who passed away, used to make the most amazing fried chicken, rice and beans you ever had in your entire life. I’ve never been able to replicate the way she did it. I think it was just the love she put into the food. It was unbelievable. My other grandmother, Cuqui, thankfully is still alive and lives in Puerto Rico. During my teen years, while my parents were going through their divorce, they would take care of me and my sister. They prepared these amazing meals for us, they supported us, they loved us, so Lala is very much based on my experienced with my grandmothers.
I actually dedicated Salty, Bitter, Sweet to my grandmothers and it was just such an amazing experience to take the book to Puerto Rico and give it to my abuela Cuqui and have her see her name on the dedication page.I told her how much everything she did meant to me. It was one of the most amazing moments ever, really special.
Can you tell us about anything about your future projects?
I’m working on a picture book right now, which is about grandma-magic in the kitchen. A perfect follow up to Salty, Bitter, Sweet!
The second book I’m working on is a YA contemporary that we jokingly call the “feminist unicorn.” I’m co-writing it with my friend and fellow author, Marie Marquardt. Hopefully I will have an announcement in the upcoming months!
I will be also moderating a series of free LIVE webinars for Las Musas about all topics related to books and publishing. You can find more information in their website LasMusasBooks.com
