Carina makes empanadas with her Tia Mimi every Saturday, but this Saturday, Tia Mimi is volunteering at the food center. She asks Carina to gather the ingredients for the empanadas. Carina is worried that she can’t do it alone. As she travels through the neighborhood gathering the ingredients, she notices how samosas and dumplings she sees in the neighborhood are similar to empanadas but different. Carina and the neighborhood come together to help those volunteering at the food center.

There seemed to be several storylines and it was hard to pick out which direction the story was going. Is the book about finding community, finding self-confidence in trying something on your own, maybe a bit of both? The different cultures represented and how we are the same, but different appeared to be one theme in the story.

The illustrations represent Tia Mimi’s diverse community and match Carina’s adventures through the neighborhood.

There is an author note at the end and a recipe for beef or chicken Puerto Rican empanadas.