Part cookbook and part love story, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate is a great entry point into the genre of magical realism. According to her family’s traditions, Tita, the youngest sister of the Mexican De La Garza family, must care for her controlling mother instead of following her dreams and marrying Pedro, the man she loves. When Pedro is arranged to marry Tita’s sister Rosaura, Tita feels immense grief, and her tears fall into the batter of the wedding cake she’s forced to make. When everyone cries while eating it, it’s revealed she has the magical ability to transfer her emotions into the dishes she makes. The kitchen then becomes an outlet for her, and with each chapter delineated by a particular recipe - chorizo, champandongo, etc. - she infuses her culinary creations with love, longing, and rebellion. Tita must break her generational curse of domesticity, establish her own values, and navigate a forbidden romance.