The Truth About Triangles
By Michael Leali
Publisher:
HarperCollins (May 21, 2024)
Publisher’s Blurb:
A
heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Front Desk,
following Luca Salvatore, a young gay Italian American trying to save his
family’s pizza restaurant and a life that feels like it’s falling apart after
he learns that his parents may be separating and his first crush and best
friend might be into each other.
Twelve-year-old
Luca Salvatore is always running interference: in arguments between his younger
twin siblings, in his parents’ troubled marriage, and between Will, the cute
new boy in town, and Luca’s best friend, June, who just can’t seem to get along.
When
the host of his favorite culinary TV show announces an open call for
submissions for its final season, Luca is sure getting his family's failing
pizzeria on the show will save it and bring his falling-apart family together.
Surprisingly, securing a spot is easier than kneading dough—but when the plan
to fix everything comes out burned, Luca is left scrambling to figure out just
the right recipe to bring his family and his friends back together.
My Thoughts:
The issues Luca faces are real: his
parents’ marriage is on the rocks, the family restaurant is draining their
finances, his younger siblings are annoying, there’s best friend drama, and he
has a serious crush…on the same boy his bestie, June, likes.
Like many tween and teen age kids, Luca
feels like he needs to fix everything. He’s desperate to get his parents to
reunite. Making pizza is his passion and his joy, and he’s good at it. But
his mom won’t vary the menu the restaurant has featured for three generations.
But when Luca finds out that his favorite food TV host, Travis Parker, is
looking for pizza restaurants to feature in his final season of Pizza
Perfect (think a pizza-centric Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives), and he
thinks he may have the way to solve all the problems.
I like the deft way the author handles
Luca’s issues, especially the weight of feeling responsible for so many things.
The progression is natural as, finally, Luca and his parents all realize that
he’s being expected to do too much. The addition of the TV host as a sort of
mentor was sweet.
Likewise, the friendships and handling of Luca’s
crush ring true. A crush is a crush, painful and beautiful, no matter what
genders are involved. I remember having some of those same crush-feelings a
million years ago when I was Luca’s age.
There is a liberal sprinkling of Italian
words in here. I feel like Luca maybe says “Mamma mia!” a little too much. It’s
comes across as kind of trite to me.
All in all, a great addition for a
classroom library, especially for teachers, parents, or librarians seeking more
representation.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Luca is very clear about being gay and
having known he was gay for a long time. Divorce. Parents fighting. Dad shows up drunk. Money troubles.
Friend issues.
Who Might Like This Book:
Foodies—especially pizza fanatics. Those
who like coming-of-age stories. LGBTQIA+ kids looking for stories about kids
like them.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher
for providing an ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
This book is also reviewed at
