February Book Recs: New Ways to Celebrate Love
When Writing Diversely writes about love, we have to consider non-traditional as well as non-romantic forms of love. This month, our Children and Adult Book Recommendations are all about love, but not in the way you may be used to.
Plátanos Are Love
children’s book RECOMMENDED by Marcella Lopez
Plátanos Are Love is a picture book written by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and illustrated by Mariyah Rahman. It was published in 2023.
Something as simple as buying plátanos (plantains) at the market and cooking them up at home is shown to have so much significance. In this book, a grandmother (abuela) gently shows her granddaughter the love that is deeply rooted in her recipes.
“En el mercado, Abuela says, ‘plátanos are love.’ I thought they were food. But Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one.”
This is a fun book for kids to read about plátanos and their rich history. It’s also a heartwarming story about how a young girl and her abuela bond over cooking.
First Impressions
As someone who grew up primarily around Mexican cuisine, plátanos weren’t something that we traditionally cooked with. So, I was delighted to learn more about them, especially the deeper personal connection they have in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine.
This book is a great educational tool for kids to learn about a different (or their own) culture. Plus, there’s also some recipes included in the book to try at home!
“Los plátanos son la comida of our ancestors.”
The Journey
The story flows from the market to the kitchen–with a young girl in tow. Abuela shows her granddaughter how to pick the best bunch, then cook up some yummy recipes at home. She continues the tradition of passing down history, culture, and practical cooking tips to the next generation.
“Recipes were passed down en secreto because our ancestors weren’t allowed to leer, escribir, or dibujar like you do in your notebook. That’s why Abuela knows every receta by heart.”
Why I Like This Book
Food is such a universal language, which makes this book relatable for so many people. I think everyone has a comfort food that brings nostalgia and happiness. And for the lucky ones, there is an abuela (or loved one) passing these recipes down to you. 💛
After reading this book, the title makes perfect sense!
Where To Find More
Buy Plátanos Are Love at a local bookstore near you or online at our Bookshop
The Romantic Agenda
Adult Fiction Recommendation by Isabelle Felix
A Celebration of Black Joy
The Romantic Agenda might have been published in 2022, but this is a fun and refreshing adult contemporary romance still needed today.
This story centers on Joy, a confident, stylish, thirty-something Black asexual woman who unapologetically exists in her fullness. Author Claire Kann writes Joy not from a place of trauma or struggle, but from laughter, confidence, desire, and delight. From start to finish, Joy’s journey to love and be loved in return is a reminder that Black women also need softness, pleasure, and personal fulfillment without having to earn it or justify it.
Interracial “Grumpy/Sunshine” + Fake-Dating
Joy has never allowed unrequited love to define her self-worth. But this beautiful, talented, and accomplished woman has been secretly in love with her best friend Malcolm since college. When Malcolm excitedly announces that he’s found “the one”—not in her, but in another woman named Summer—and then invites Joy on a weekend getaway with the couple, Joy turns what could be an excruciating disaster into a last-ditch effort to see if there could ever be something with Malcolm.
Enter Fox (Summer’s “friend, turned ex, turned friend again” who was also invited on this trip). Where Joy is a shameless optimist ready to dazzle and be dazzled, Fox is a gray-wearing, cynical grump by nature. But together, they heat things up with a fake-dating scheme that derails forced group activities, braving helicopter rides, and negotiating safe words.
As Joy and Fox lean more and more into the ruse, their contrasting personalities spark a connection rooted in communication, the fun kind of teasing, and emotional safety. They catch each other’s references, learn, grow, and show up for each other without trying to center themselves, minimize the other’s experiences, or “fix” their identities. Their gradual realization that fake dating is turning into something real makes it impossible not to yearn for their happy ending.
The Romantic Agenda is as much a romance as it is a love letter to Black woman happiness itself. Moreover, this story challenges limited ideas of love, while still delivering warmth, humor, and emotional payoff.
So, Get Ready For
An open, expansive getaway setting full of hilarious rom-com twists in the shape of a love square, not a triangle, and moments of reflection.
A Black woman centered in popular romantic tropes (Fake Dating and Grumpy/Sunshine without the Black FMC having to be the grump).
Black ace representation in the main cast, and intersecting identities that are woven into the story as a natural part of who the characters are, but without making that be the primary focus.
Lived experiences that aren’t sensationalized, minimized, or overexplained for the reader.
Women characters who define themselves on their own terms, even if that goes against rigid societal expectations around romance, sex, desirability, motherhood, and Black womanhood.
Buy The Romantic Agenda at a local bookstore near you or online at our Bookshop
Marcella Lopez is a freelance authenticity/sensitivity reader, copyeditor, and writer based in San Diego, CA. She is a Mexican American woman, born and raised in Southern California. She loves hanging with her golden retriever and watching the beautiful game of fútbol. IG: @marcellalopezeditorial | Work with Marcella
Isabelle Felix is a psychology research and therapy assistant turned editor, beta/sensitivity reader, and author coach. The passion to reach out and understand another person’s perspective has led her to work with Big Five Publishers, NY Times and USA Today best sellers, Big Apple Film Festival screenwriting finalists, International Leaders of Scenario Planning consulting firms, and writers who are still getting used to putting themselves and their stories out there. So, whichever stage the writer is at, Isabelle is always thrilled to meet them there. | Work with Isabelle
