THE TAKEOUT

Narrator Ferdelle Capistrano sounds full of determination as tween Mila. The future of her family's food truck is threatened when Mila's celebrity idols, the Fab Foodie Brothers, open a new restaurant in town--one with a suspiciously similar menu. Shenanigans ensue as she tries to prove that they stole The Banana Leaf's delicious Filipino-Indian fusion recipes. Capistrano effectively communicates Mila's range of emotions--she worries about alienating her new friends, who are also fans of the Brothers; she misses her mom, who is in the Philippines caring for her grandfather; she wishes her dad would fight harder for his food truck dream; and she struggles to find the confidence to be her authentic self. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2023]