How GUAVA AND GRUDGES Pays Homage to the Golden Age of YA Romance, a guest post by author Alexis Castellanos

My first book, Isla to Island, changed my life. It made me a published author, allowing me to reach and speak to readers, and it made me connect with my family and culture in a way I never expected. But it was also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. The story was inspired by my family’s experience immigrating to this country and part of my research was simply getting on the phone and talking to my mom. We talked about the fun stories about living in New York City, but we also talked about the difficult things, too. It ended up being a process that was incredibly challenging emotionally. On top of that, it was also a physically grueling project that left me with chronic pain that I still struggle with years later.

I knew the next project had to be different. It couldn’t be a graphic novel, because I needed time to heal, and it couldn’t be something that would destroy me emotionally. It needed to be that light and fluffy book you pick up between dark thrillers and epic fantasies. But it still needed to be something that was entirely for me, first and foremost.

I was a voracious reader as a teen. I got to grow up during the golden age of contemporary romance: Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, Megan McCafferty, Ann Brashares, and so many more. I loved reading those books so much, the struggles of being a teenager and having out of control emotions and maybe a hot ghost in your bedroom. But there was always something missing for me in those books. I got close, once, reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. One of the girls, Carmen, is Puerto Rican, and she was the closest I ever got to seeing my life in the pages of a book. I may have written Guava and Grudges for myself, but I also wrote it for all the Cuban American readers looking to see a little bit of them reflected in the books they read.

For anyone who has read the book, it should come as no surprise that I got the idea for Guava and Grudges while eating. We were visiting a friend that works at an ice cream shop and my fiancé was discussing the practice of food trades between local businesses in Seattle. I had the throwaway thought of two rival businesses and wondered what trading food would be like between them. From there that little thought gained momentum. What if it was two feuding Cuban families in the middle of nowhere Washington? What if the daughter of one of the families accidentally fell in love with someone from the rival family? I just kept asking myself questions, throwing away some ideas and keeping the others. The best ideas I came up with while writing were all the desserts—excluding the dessert burrito, of course. That thing is cursed.

As a Cuban-American author, I feel like I have a responsibility when it comes to telling stories. It’s no secret that publishing tends to highlight and uplift the stories about BIPOC pain, labeling them as important and moving, leaving stories about our joy to wither away. I can attest to how powerful and empowering a book about immigration can be because I’ve written one and I’ve met readers who have been profoundly touched by the story. But they cannot be the only stories we are allowed to tell; they cannot be the only books that are heralded as important and powerful and empowering.

I wanted Guava and Grudges to be fun, full of fluff and a delight to read from front to back. And that’s exactly what it became for me. This book was an absolute pleasure to write, I was giggling and kicking my feet writing the scenes between Ana and Miguel. I was even having a blast when I got to write the long strings of Spanish cursing when the dads were fighting. I hope that Guava and Grudges can be as powerful as my first book, even though its strengths lie in different places. It is important for Cuban American and BIPOC teenagers to see themselves in joyful stories, stories where a girl dreams of being a pastry chef and falls into a silly star-crossed romance. I hope the message of honoring your heritage and culture while still trying new things can be powerful to a teenager struggling with their identity. I hope a reader picks this book up and feels empowered to see another Cuban American author in bookstores, making their dreams of one day writing books seem like a reality. But if this just ends up being the book you need to pick up between epic dragon fights and tense murder mysteries, I think that break for joy is just as powerful.

Meet Our Guest Blogger

Alexis Castellnaos is the author of Guava & Grudges (Bloomsbury) and Isla to Island (Simon & Schuster), an Eisner-nominated and award-winning graphic novel. Born in Miami, Fl, she studied theatre design and technology in college and landed in New York City after graduation working as a scenic artist before transitioning into publishing as a graphic designer. When she’s not working she can be found tackling a new sewing project, playing D&D, or cooking up a storm. For now she’s calling Los Angeles home, where she lives with her partner and two spoiled cats.

She is represented by Marietta Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.

Filed under: Romance