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bickie 's review for:
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
by Pablo Cartaya
Arturo Zamora, 13, is looking forward to a summer in Canal Grove (near Miami) working in his Cuban abuela's restaurant and hanging out with his friends. The restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla, is the nexus of the Zamora extended family as well as a popular community gathering place. Abuela is the person who holds it all together, but due to her failing health, Arturo's mother has taken over as the chef and manager. Two people appear in town to change the trajectory of Arturo's summer: his mother's goddaughter, Carmen, whose mother died during the past year, and Wilfrido Pipo. While the Zamoras are excited to expand the restaurant into the empty lot next door, Pipo, a developer, swoops in with alternative plans to build a high-rise with a gym, movie theater, and other amenities. As Pipo wins over the community with grand promises, gift bags, a free-food festival, and schmoozing with the local authorities, the Zamoras fight his gentrification ideas even while coping with the alarming decline in abuela's health.