Summary

This section begins with "Exhaustion," a testament to how much responsibility Emoni has as a teen mom. Malachi continues to flirt with her but she tries her best to discourage him. In "A Tale of Two Cities," Emoni describes her neighborhood of Fairhill in Philadelphia, which has a high population of Puerto Ricans. Her neighborhood also has a high crime rate, and some call it the "Badlands," but she notes that "there is a lot more goodness than is reported in the news" (86). Emoni possesses great pride in her 'hood and appreciates how it has shaped her into who she is.

"Fail" begins a series of short chapters that capture Emoni's failures and successes in culinary arts class. Eager to learn and impress, Emoni continually modifies recipes until Chef Ayden reprimands her and she feels humiliated. She is grappling with understanding the technical...