Like Water for Chocolate--Whole Book

This week, I finished Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel. This is a very interesting story about a Mexican family and all the traditions, scandal, and history that links their actions together. To begin with, the main character, Tita, has some strange powers over whatever she cooks. She always was connected with and comfortable with the kitchen and LOVED to cook. When she cried or was happy, it was quite literally reflected in her cooking, and soon, anybody who ate her cooking felt the same way she did. Tita was in love with a boy named Pedro, who was married to her sister in order to be closer to Tita. This creates quite a conflict within the household. Their house is ruled by Mama Elena, a strong-headed and hard woman who has power over all the families daily lives. Tita is forced to take care of Mama Elena until she dies--an old family tradition. For this reason, the two resent each other. As Mama Elena aims to push Pedro and Tita's sister, Rosaura, away from Tita, Tita becomes more strong and begins to slowly move on from her past. The author went into great detail about each emotion every character felt, and used food and cooking to help with each new plot to the book--the food cooked somehow tied in well with an emotion. Although some of the parts of the book are a little exaggerated, it was a very interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining book.