The Takeout

May 8, 2023
A Filipina tween determines to save her family’s business by using secret Filipino folk magic in this energetic novel by Badua (This Is Not a Personal Statement). Twelve-year-old Mila Pascual, newly moved to Coral Beach, Calif., works at the Banana Leaf, her family’s Filipino Indian food truck, which is run by her father and his business partner, Mr. Ram. Food isn’t the only thing they serve, though; sometimes Mila covertly adds special magical tinctures to the recipes to help people, as when she whips up an elixir to assist a heartbroken girl in getting over a breakup. When white-cued twin television chefs Chip and Chaz Darlington, the Fab Foodie Brothers, open restaurant Marigold and Myth across the street from the food truck, Mila is at first excited to meet some celebrities. But once she realizes that their entrées are suspiciously like the Banana Leaf’s, she investigates with the help of Ajay, Mr. Ram’s nephew. Both Mila and Ajay are enterprising protagonists whose teamwork and dedication to their families add heart to this briskly paced magical adventure. Through Mila’s cheeky first-person narration, Badua tackles themes of family, identity, and perseverance. Ages 8–12.

May 15, 2023
A Filipino American girl endeavors to save her family's livelihood with a little bit of magic. Twelve-year-old Mila Pascual and her dad help run the Banana Leaf, a Filipino Indian fusion food truck they own with their friends Mr. Ram and his nephew, Ajay, in Coral Beach, California. Following their recent move from suburban Los Angeles, Mila's adjusting to being "the only chubby, short-black-haired, dark-brown-skinned Asian girl in a sea of beach mansion Barbies." Her sister, Catalina, is attending college in LA, and her mom is caring for Mila's grandfather in the Philippines. Mila loves inventing new recipes but feels less certain of her abilities with the albularyo, or folk healer, skills passed down through her mother's line. Trouble comes when TV celebrity chefs Chip and Chaz, Mila's idols, open their own Filipino and Indian restaurant in town--with menu items exactly matching the Banana Leaf's. Mila and Ajay's suspicions of sabotage are confirmed by a sudden health department inspection of the food truck following an anonymous complaint. The friends' sleuthing also reveals the celebrities' past shady behavior. Mila's albularyo potions might help save the day, if only she can believe enough in the magic she creates to make it work. Badua sensitively explores Mila's struggles with cultural identity and a sense of belonging in relation to both family and peers, particularly as her experiences with marginalization diverge from Catalina's. The ending neatly ties up all the loose ends. A magical and delicious read that's filled with love. (Fiction. 9-12)

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April 1, 2023
Grades 4-7 Badua's latest novel is a fusion of magic and cooking with a dash of humor. Mila has felt left out ever since her dad moved them and their food truck to Coral Beach. As the only brown-skinned, Filipino American girl in the neighborhood--who also comes from a long line of folk healers--Mila doesn't fit in with her new cookie-cutter community or the Seashell Squad girls' clique. When the celebrities from a restaurant-makeover reality show come to town, their new restaurant threatens to take customers away from the food truck, and Mila may need to resort to magic in order to save her dad's business. This story that explores the struggle of fitting in also touches on the challenge some children of immigrant parents deal with when one parent must live temporarily overseas. This delicious read is the perfect pairing for Jennifer Torres' Stef Soto, Taco Queen (2017), which also centers on a food truck, and Anna Meriano's mix of magic and cooking in Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble (2018).

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