Success should (ideally) come down to what we want for ourselves. There are many factors that help shape what success looks like for us—cultural norms, socio-economic status, outside influences, and more—as female protagonist Penelope Prado shows us in Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp. I had the pleasure of chatting with debut author, Laekan Zea Kemp, about her new young adult novel.
Credit: Laekan Zea Kemp
It’s common knowledge that mental health is not always addressed during our road to success. In this story, there are many pieces of Laekan Zea Kemp. Pen’s mental health struggles mirror the mental health journey Laekan has been on since her late teens / early college years when her father was sick, her mother and Laekan weren’t getting along, and, “it felt like [her] entire world was falling apart.” The book’s male protagonist, Alejandro “Xander” Amaro, was inspired by the author’s former students. Laekan was an ESL teacher and most of her students were immigrants from Central and South America. The author states: “I’ve gotten to see up close what it’s like for them and their families to navigate our ridiculous immigration system. And yet through it all they are so resilient and so hopeful. I wanted to capture that in Xander’s character.” Not only do parents figures influence one’s success, educators are also on the frontlines of students’ professional well-being.
Adding to the importance of mental health in this read is how the conversation of family ties and culture take shape in literature. It’s widely known that multi-generational homes are very common among BIPOC communities in general. Kemp says, “it’s western culture that prizes individualism but in a Latinx household, [usually], the family works as a unit to reach common goals and one person’s success is shared among everyone.” The author adds that family is thus essential and everything else sort of orbits around that, so there is no separating Pen or Xander from those influences. Those bonds have a huge impact on the way Pen and Xander see themselves, because Latinx parents are not inconsequential—the family structure and the way it’s set up makes it almost impossible, Laekan declares. Pen indeed has her own point-of-view of what success looks like, even when her parents try to tell her otherwise and at the same time, it is precisely because of them that she has a specific career path in mind.
Parents figures play a key role to shape us as grow older, and it is typical for that parent-figure-child relationship “to evolve and be redefined.” Both protagonists experience this in the novel. Pen learns that “the part of her identity that attributes to her father, isn’t lost once he fires her” as soon as she reveals her secret to her family. Pen learns that “being removed from her father’s orbit doesn’t remove her from his heart.” Xander goes through a similar lesson where “he’s had a lot of years to make up stories about why his father left and never came back. In that time, over and over again, he blames himself. Until he learns that across miles, time and space, his father still loved him. Even when he couldn’t see it.” Ultimately, the writing process for Laekan Zea Kemp involved “writing authentically about [her] community and the things [they] believe and value like family, tradition, and legacy.” It’s crucial to keep in mind that the author is speaking about her own family values and the type of community she grew up in. Furthermore, Laekan states that, “the family members in this story are naturally helping to illuminate and develop the identities of both characters.” This applies to everyone worldwide, where a part of our identity is influenced by people we interact with.
Photo credit: Yvonne Tapia; Bookmark and headband gift credit: Laekan Zea Kemp
This brings us to another great detail about this novel—it is written in dual perspectives, which many readers love. Laekan confesses that she has always been drawn to dual points of view, especially in the Romance genre. For her, it’s “so much fun to know what both characters are thinking and feeling as they’re falling in love.” She also states that this novel has given her the opportunity to show multiple versions of the Latinx experience and specifically within the Mexican and Mexican-American communities. Through Pen, the author sheds light into the experience of a family member several generations removed from her family’s immigrant background; someone struggling with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression; and, someone who uses food to show love to both herself and others.
On another note, Xander symbolizes a completely difference aspect of a possible experience as a Latinx individual. Laekan further tells us, “he’s an undocumented immigrant who spent half his life in Mexico and half his life in the U.S. He lives with his Abuelo, which is representative of so many multi-generational households.” As readers follow Xander, they will learn how he sees everyone else as connected to something, while he isn’t connected to anything (in his point-of-view). He observes the close-knit bond that the employees at the Nacho’s Tacos restaurant have, which helps emphasize the resilience of the people in their neighborhood. Laekan did not have an exact agenda writing two distinct protagonists, and she is hopeful that
“Their intersectional identities and distinct details that really ground them in their humanity will help readers from all kinds of backgrounds to be able to connect with them in some way. Especially young people who might be struggling with redefining those parent-child relationships or with that initial launch into adulthood when the world seems incredibly big and scary.”
Adding to the mental health theme is how speaking about mental health applies to the Latinx community. Kemp states, “I remember reading an article a few years ago that said that Latinas have the highest attempted suicide rates of any demographic. Those numbers may have changed since then, [and] they’re still incredibly jarring.” This is why “it’s so important for [her] to consistently explore mental health in [her] own work.” She knows what a difference it can make when you feel like someone else understands what you’re going through.
There are significant occurrences where language is proven to have so much power than is usually given credit for. When Pen faces her parents with her true professional goals, she is led towards a specific path. According to the author, even though Pen’s decision to say her truth separates her form the family restaurant, “she comes out the other side of that experience so much stronger.” Laekan eloquently states that, “ultimately, our souls crave honesty. All of us want to be able to tell the truth of who we are and to have that truth honored and celebrated.”
Language is also proven essential through other characters and food. A good friend of Pen’s tells her that “to feed someone who’s hungry, it’s a gift.” Food helps reflect our cultural roots, and also helps us connect in many atmospheres—whether it’s a family gathering or professional matter. The Latinx community will also see itself reflected in mentions of roasted pepitas, el comal, cilantro, and other key nourishment items. As Laekan insightfully states, “for those of us who are Chicane and exist on the peripheries of our own culture, not born in our ancestral home, food is one of the ways that we stay connected to that power source.”
Credit: Yvonne Tapia
It is up to present and future generations to maintain the cultural foods our parents, grandparents, or guardians have given us. There are many ways to further feed people, aside from food. “You can feed the people you love through all sorts of things. Your time. Your encouragement. Your creativity. I’d love for readers to see how Pen uses her skills in the kitchen to care for her community and to be inspired to use their own gifts the same way,” Laekan tells me.
As we learn more about Pen’s family restaurant, we eventually get a very humorous and wild teenage hangout in the middle of the story. In the midst of that, Pen decides to cover up specific details about her best friend’s (Chloe), love life. There is fierce loyalty between them, that is also reflected in the other characters. Laekan further notes that “Pen choosing to stay [quiet] about Chloe’s private life is just another way [of showing] that she has Chloe’s back.” Laekan adds that, in her point-of-view, Latinx people love some good chisme but it’s never more important than protecting the people we care about. This YA novel does an excellent job in showing a side of the Latinx community where everyone is loyal to each other and always tries to help each other out rather than gossiping. Thus, this is another form of success for Pen, where she controls her grounds when facing outside influences.
There is an ultimate message that author Laekan Zea Kemp wants young readers to get out of Pen and Xander’s story. She hopes that people “see that the Mexican and Chicane community is beautiful”. Laekan additionally says,
“We are resilient, creative, powerful, loving, and proud. We take care of each other, fight for each other. We will keep fighting together whether those battles are internal & require us to break down stigmas and talk about our heartbreak, trauma, or those battles [that] are coming from the outside world & require us to stand tall, to raise our voices, to lock & march.”
The author speaks with conviction as she shares that we deserve to take up space and follow our dreams. And with that, Laekan Zea Kemp is on her way to continue writing more unique stories featuring the Mexican, Mexican-American / Chicane experience.
For more updates on her latest works, follow author Laekan Zea Kemp on:
Twitter: @LaekanZeaKemp
Instagram: @LaekanZeaKemp
Website: http://www.laekanzeakemp.com/
You may use the hashtags #SomewhereBetweenBitterandSweet and #RedforPen. Enjoy!
Yvonne Tapia is a Mexican-American professional from East Harlem, New York. She earned a BA in Media Studies and Psychology from Hunter College. Additionally, she has worked in the educational and media fields through various outlets. With a long-term enthusiasm for children’s media, she has been involved at Housing Works Bookstore and Latinx in Publishing. She currently works on the Marketing and Publicity team at Levine Querido. Yvonne is excited about the power of storytelling, and to engage content awareness in underrepresented communities.
