As Melody celebrates a coming of age ceremony at her grandparents' house in 2001 Brooklyn, her family remembers 1985, when Melodys own mother, Iris, prepared for a similar party that never took place.

Lorca spends her life poring over cookbooks, making croissants and chocolat chaud, seeking out rare ingredients, all to earn the love of her distracted chef of a mother, who is now packing her off to boarding school. In one last effort to prove herself indispensable, Lorca resolves to track down the recipe for her mother's ideal meal, an obscure Middle Eastern dish called masgouf. Victoria, grappling with her husband's death, has been dreaming of...

"Bad Fruit is about the difficult, sometimes abusive, relationship between a mother and daughter. As the boundaries of mother love are crossed, universal themes of family, history, and identity help reveal the shattering effects of generational trauma"-- Provided by publisher.

"When Cricket's Aunt Belinda accidentally forgets her in the grocery store, Cricket decides to run away once and for all. But Cricket has to stay close by because even though her mama hasn't been in touch since she disappeared, she'll surely come back. And Cricket has to be there when she does. Because she needs answers"-- Provided by publisher.