Point of View

The novel is narrated in the third-person, switching between the perspectives of Xander and Pen. Xander is a young Latino who begins working at Nacho’s Tacos while he searches for his absent father who abandoned him years before. Pen is the daughter of Ignacio, the owner of the taco shop, and she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance as she tries to establish herself in the restaurant business. Pen is consumed by loneliness and depression as she clashes with her family regarding her future aspirations because her parents wish she would return to nursing school. Laekan Zea Kemp does not place any limitations on the access to either Xander or Pen’s inner thoughts, allowing the reader to understand their true motivations, fears, and conflicts.

Pen is often blunt and confrontational to avoid allowing herself to be hurt by others, but she...