TAYSHAS 10

North of Happy by Adi Alsaid

Having read a book by this author that I liked before, I figured this would be a safe bet, and it was.

Carlos has an older brother named Felix. Felix, in an effort to thwart their father's wishes for his life, Felix travels the world, doing his own thing. At the beginning, Carlos and Felix are on the hunt for the perfect taco. At a stop that looks promising, Felix is shot and dies. Carlos has a hard time dealing with this, and sees Felix everywhere, including as a pigeon who talks to him.

At his high school graduation party, Carlos hears a speech his father makes and it seems as though their father has completely forgotten about Felix. This doesn't sit well with Carlos, and he makes plans to leave. But where to go? He sees a restaurant on a cooking show while he is packing, and the name sounds familiar. As it turns out, this was the number one place Felix wanted to eat at. So, Carlos heads to Seattle, and has to wait a couple of days to fulfill his reservation.

While there, he meets the hostess, Emma, and things just kinda click with them. Emma convinces the Chef to hire Carlos as a dishwasher, and that is his way into the restaurant business. Over the two months that he is there, Carlos gets lessons from Chef and is allowed to cook the staff meals, under the condition that he no longer sees Emma. Emma, as it turns out, is Chef's daughter.

Carlos and Emma sneak around, and on the day preceding the night of an important date, Carlos is given an opportunity to prove himself to Chef. A position on the line is riding on this. All he has to do is create a meal for the day's special. Carlos manages this in fine form, but instead of leaving, he stays to watch the kitchen cook his meal, which causes him to miss his date with Emma.

Will Emma be forgiving? Will Chef finally find out that Carlos and Emma are still seeing each other? Does Felix ever go away? You're going to have to read this to find out.