Stef Soto, Taco Queen

Though she’s asked her father not to pick her up from school in her family’s food truck, Tía Perla, 11-year-old Stef Soto is annoyed to find the truck waiting in the parking lot. Embarrassed to be seen with Tía Perla, Stef reluctantly climbs inside, scooting over to give her friend Arthur room to sit. Unlike Stef, Arthur doesn’t mind the truck—not even when Stef’s dad starts blaring his music. Stef ends the chapter begging “please, can we just go now?” (5).

Before Stef and her dad drop Arthur off, Stef’s dad prepares a special burrito for Arthur that accommodates all his food allergies. Stef realizes her dad had time to come up with the new recipe today, which means he must have had a very slow sales day. After Arthur leaves, Stef’s dad drives Tía Perla to one of their regular spots, where they do pretty well in sales. Done for the day, they drop Tía Perla off at the city’s commissary, where it seems like her headlights are “pleading with us not to leave her behind” (11).