SPICY SPICY HOT!

A young biracial girl looks forward to her Nenek’s visit from Indonesia.

Not only will Lintang meet her paternal grandmother for the first time, but Nenek will be cooking Indonesian food, including her famous sambal. But the chili paste is too spicy for Lintang. Even with reassurance from White-presenting Mama, who tells Lintang she had the same reaction to sambal years ago; Papa; and Nenek, Lintang feels left out. She’s determined to prevail over sambal, but every kind that she tries is too spicy for her. Nenek, who does not speak much English, quietly works to find a sambal that Lintang will be able to easily eat. This cozy story of familial warmth is a treasure. Wen’s digitally edited gouache-and–colored pencil illustrations on hot-pressed paper are bursting with cultural detail, from rattan chairs to the tikar mat on the floor to Nenek’s kebaya, and the Indonesian language is deftly incorporated. Nenek is a lovingly crafted character who’s keenly aware that Lintang feels that not being able to eat sambal means she doesn’t belong—and who helps her forge meaningful connections to her heritage, food traditions, and family. Wen makes clear, too, that despite language and geographic barriers, Lintang and Nenek can communicate in the ways that matter most, and their bond will last far longer than this visit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A deeply satisfying celebration of cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and delicious sambal.