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Time for a redemption arc

Wren Martin Ruins It All – Amanda DeWitt

Summary: Wren Martin ascends to student council president with the chance to finally cancel the stupid heteronormative big dance, but his vice president has other ideas that are (unfortunately) not terrible.

I carefully pull the cupcake out of my backpack. I made it myself, which is unbearably embarrassing, but I swear it’s more arrogance than romance. My cookie bars didn’t get much of a chance to shine at the bake sale, so it’s time for a redemption arc: lemon-lavender cupcake with cream cheese frosting, but I like to call it perfection. The fact that I had to put it in an old plastic Chinese takeout container is a little less elegant.

p. 315

Perhaps, as the name of the book suggests, Wren Martin is not the nicest nor the most savvy, but it’s still pretty easy (for me, at least) to fall for someone so clueless and mostly well-meaning. From the introduction of Wren hitting his head on a locked door to the [redacted] at the conclusion, the audience (me) is a bit ahead of where he is in terms of where everything is headed, but the joy is in the journey not necessarily the destination. 

I picked this book up both because I’m always a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers type plot, and the cover blurb sort of hints at such a story, but also because I’ve been interested in reading more ace/aro stories to read more widely in the vast alphabet that entails LGBT+ and this one sounded entertaining enough. 

Boy, I was in for a treat, not unlike the perfection that makes up the cupcake described in the quote. I’m not sure if I can explain exactly why this hit all the right notes for me—I’m decidedly not in the ace/aro category, but otoh am a bit of an oblivious asshole that may help me feel seen—but I can say that Amanda DeWitt is going to be one to watch (at least for me, and she has one other book I plan to get to soon!). 

Unlike “Imogen, Obviously,” Wren is not unsure of his sexuality; he describes himself early on as asexual (as does the blurb). But, like that other book I loved, Wren is still new to understanding and processing his feelings when they don’t jibe with a pre-ordained idea he has of himself, and the book (both books, tbh) is a good exploration of finding yourself as you find yourself interested in another person who doesn’t necessarily factor into that idealized person. 

Both also work really well in demonstrating, at least to me, how easy it is to be yourself behind a screen, when there’s some distance (and in this case, anonymity) between you and the other person you’re vibing with (in whatever way). It’s both freeing to be able to flirt/chat/be more open but also limiting in terms of being seen and experienced at your worst, or as a whole of a person. Maybe that’s just the older millennial in me reckoning once again with the disconnect I feel between online and “real life,” but I think the exploration in Wren is well explored and an interesting contrast between Wren’s feelings for his anonymous friend and his new-found frenemy. 

Like Wren, the cupcake he describes is more complicated than it first appears. But I couldn’t resist showing within the quote his arrogance but also his joy at a job well done, as well as a little bit of awkwardness.

Perfection cupcakes

Here’s hoping I did his story and his cupcake justice with this attempt at mashing up a handful of Food Network cupcake recipes, and how I did it: 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • ½ t. salt
  • 10 T. butter 
  • ¼ c. lavender flowers
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 1 c. milk

For the frosting: 

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • ½ c. (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 3 c. confectioners’ sugar
  • 2–3 T. lemon juice or whole milk, as preferred
  • Purple food coloring, if desired and available 

Directions

  • Step 1: Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liner.
  • Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 
  • Step 3: Melt the 10 T. of butter with the lavender flowers on low heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Strain the lavender flowers from the butter, discarding the flowers and placing the butter in a large mixing bowl. Let the butter cool slightly. 
  • Step 4: Beat together the butter and sugar, and then add the eggs, one at a time until mixed in. Then, add the lemon zest and juice. 
  • Step 5: Slowly add in the flour mixture and then the milk until a smooth batter is formed. 
  • Step 6: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back, 20 to 25 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a rack before adding frosting. 
  • Step 7: For the frosting, use an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar. Add in the lemon juice/milk. Continue mixing until combined, adding a little more juice/milk or sugar until the consistency looks correct. 
  • Step 8: Use a knife or a decorating pipe to add the frosting to the cooled cupcakes.
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Still counts

Imogen, Obviously – Becky Albertalli

Summary: Imogen visits her bestie at her nearby college and gets a taste of what it’s like to be seen as queer, and along the way realizes that maybe she isn’t so straight after all.

Tessa stops short. “You’re an award-winning chef?”

“Yeah… I don’t want to brag, but”—I bite back a smile—”I kind of swept the ten-and-under category in the Li’l Cookies Library Fundraiser Bake-Off.” 

“Yeah you did,” Tessa high-fives me. 

“Best Rice Krispie Treat of my life,” Lili says. 

“Thanks! It’s the recipe from the back of the Rice Krispies box.”

“Still counts!”

p. 45

This book made, at least to my eyes, several year-end best lists for queer YA fiction in 2023, and so I could not resist giving it a try. Then, I read the whole thing in more or less one sitting, and I understood what all the fuss was about. 

A thing I’ve heard more and more from the LGBT+ community (or maybe my ears were finally ready to listen) is the phrase “You are queer enough,” and this book is basically the embodiment of this concept. 

In some ways, Imogen had never given too much thought to her sexuality. Since all her friends are queer, and while she’s never kissed a boy (or anyone else!), she’s always seen herself in contrast to them. In other ways, because she’s always seen herself in contrast to them and has that message constantly reinforced by another friend, she’s never had reason to give it much thought. Then, a little white lie gives her a weekend where no one questions that she *could* be queer. That gives way to weeklong flirting exchange with another girl that has Imogen questioning everything she thought she knew. 

What does being queer look like? What if her love of queer people and queer media left her blind to the fact that it could look like her? What about earlier obsessions with girls? And most importantly, what about this new girl keeps her up too late and smiling? 

Imogen, obviously, is a delight to spend an easy 300+ YA pages with, and one that left me up too late and smiling way more than I’m used to. And the Rice Krispies treats, well, they were a bit easier and made well before bed time, but they were no less satisfying than the book (given it’s been years since I have had or made them). 

Rice Krispies treats (pre-cutting)

Here’s what I did, following the recipe on the back of the box (well, the Rice Krispies website anyway), obviously: 

Ingredients

  • 3 T. butter
  • 1 (10 oz.) package JET-PUFFED marshmallows 
  • 6 c. Rice Krispies cereal (or generic, shhhh)
  • Oil, for coating

Directions

  • Step 1: Melt butter in a large saucepan or pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add in the cereal, and stir until well coated. 
  • Step 2: Spray or spread oil in a 9×13 casserole dish, and then use an oil-coated spatula or wax paper to evenly press the mixture into the dish. 
  • Step 3: Let cool, and cut into 2 in. squares. Freeze any leftovers by separating squares with wax paper. 
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On chorizo burritos and coming out

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School – Sonora Reyes

Summary: Yami knows she’s a lesbian but desperately hopes no one else knows, as she and her brother start at a new Catholic school, but of course, she immediately befriends (and falls for?) the one out and proud lesbian at her school.

“So hey, if you still want to leave, you can. But I’d love for you to stay for breakfast. I was about to make your favorite.” 

“How do you know what my favorite breakfast is?”

“Because you’re about to tell me.” He smiles. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

“Chorizo burritos.” I don’t know why talking about my favorite breakfast food makes me tear up.

p. 241

I fell in love with this book from its opening line: “Seven years of bad luck can slurp my ass.” I immediately identified with (spoiler for the second sentence) being so rageful as to punch a mirror and the profane way the main character describes it. 

And the rest of the book did not disappoint. Yami—and her friends, frenemies, and family—proves to be as complicated as the emotions evoked in that first sentence. She is equal parts headstrong and stubborn as she is impulsive and sardonic. Throw in a healthy amount of self-doubt as evidenced by the foodie quote, and you’ve got a fully realized teenage girl, at least from my own experiences. 

Being a lesbiana is newer to me, but is yet another way of being seen. 

So, self-doubt? Check. Queerness? Check. How do we get to the chorizo burritos? 

Well, aside from the above, my wife introduced me to her recipe very soon after we became serious enough to start sharing meals. 

I’m not sure it’s exactly what Yami envisioned, but I can say that in 10+ years of marriage and dating, I don’t think I’ve ever made the meal myself, always trusting her with it. 

While it’s relatively simple, it’s always hard to make something you’ve long since entrusted someone else to do perfectly. Still, I think I did OK in my attempt. 

Chorizo burritos

Here’s what I did, following my wife’s instructions: 

Ingredients

  • Oil, for sauteing 
  • Butter, for cooking eggs
  • 1 lb. Mexican chorizo 
  • 1 large russet potato, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2–3 large eggs
  • Pickled jalapeno slices, for serving (optional)
  • Shredded cheddar or crumbled cotija, for serving (optional, and as preferred)
  • Burrito-sized tortillas

Directions

  • Step 1: Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the potato, cooking until the potatoes are almost fully cooked through. Add the onions, cooking until softened and translucent, about 3–5 minutes. Add the chorizo, cooking until the potatoes and chorizo are cooked to perfection. Remove from heat.
  • Step 2: In a separate large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add eggs, being sure to break up the yolks. Cook until done, flipping halfway through, and remove from heat. Cut up the eggs into bite-sized pieces. 
  • Step 3: Add the eggs to the chorizo mixture, and add in jalapeno slices (if using). 
  • Step 4: To serve, spoon desired amount of mixture into tortilla, top with cheese (if using), and wrap burrito. Enjoy!