Copyright Date:
2024
Edition Date:
2024
Release Date:
06/11/24
Pages:
308 pages
ISBN:
0-06-325458-1
ISBN 13:
978-0-06-325458-9
Dewey:
Fic
LCCN:
2023944473
Dimensions:
22 cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
School Library Journal Starred Review
(Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Gr 5 Up— Badua and Dow's suspenseful, engaging book offers readers a plot-driven tale. Laila and Lucy have been best friends since kindergarten. Lucy loves journalism while Laila loves cooking. This year will be different, however, because they will have to go to different high schools. When Laila gets offered a spot in a baking competition to win a scholarship to Sunderland Academy, the two discover that the elite boarding school has both culinary and journalism programs. To get them noticed, Lucy reports on Laila's competition. When Chef Remy, a highly critical chef, collapses during competition, foul play is suspected, and everyone seems to think Laila did it. Can the best friends clear Laila's name, and figure out who hurt Chef Remy? Laila and Lucy are authentic, enjoyable characters readers will root for. Told through a mix of journal entries and chapter formats, the plot is complex and draws the readers into the duo's world. The authors adeptly describe the culinary elements of the novel while giving substance to the mystery. VERDICT This book features a diverse cast of characters for readers who like cooking, mysteries, and realistic fiction; it will circulate well in libraries where mysteries and friendship stories are popular.— Kira Moody
Kirkus Reviews
Best friends combine their baking and sleuthing strengths to try to solve a baking competition mystery.Middle school students Laila and Lucy are inseparable, but thanks to the school district lines, they'll be attending different high schools unless they can achieve their dream of getting scholarships to exclusive Sunderland Prep. Ever since her father's death, Laila and her mother have been struggling to make ends meet, and Lucy's parents can't afford the tuition, either. Aspiring "cookie tycoon" Laila enters the Golden Cookie baking contest-the winner gets a full ride to Sunderland-while Lucy, "journalist extraordinaire in training," is hoping her article about the competition will win her Sunderland's journalism scholarship. Laila is competing against kids from wealthier backgrounds, as the show's coordinator points out at the start, shaking Laila's confidence slightly. But the tension among the contestants quickly escalates and accusations start flying once a celebrity chef judge collapses after eating one of Laila's cookies. A storm that isolates the competitors rachets up the tension even more. The girls' journal entries are interspersed between chapters told from their alternating perspectives, providing texture to the story. Readers will resonate with the relationship dynamics between the two friends, who seem to see the best in each other despite various points of interpersonal tension throughout the story. Laila is Black; Lucy has black hair, brown skin, and the surname Flores.A lighthearted read that effectively combines reality television drama with a page-turning mystery. (Mystery. 10-14)
The Great British Bake Off meets Knives Out in this fun and propulsive middle grade novel following two best friends who must solve the mystery behind a baking competition gone awry.
Laila gave Lucy a cupcake on the second day of kindergarten, and they've been inseparable ever since. But the summer before eighth grade, they find out that since they live on opposite sides of town, they’ll go to different high schools. Yuck!
Then Laila’s invited to compete at the Golden Cookie competition, which awards its winner admission and a full ride to the prestigious Sunderland boarding school, and it’s the perfect opportunity. Sunderland doesn’t just have an elite culinary program; it’s also home to an elite journalism track, if only newscaster-hopeful Lucy could build up a strong enough portfolio to impress the scholarship committee.
But when one of the celebrity judges collapses after sampling Laila’s showpiece, rumors of foul play swirl, with Laila rising to the top of the suspect list. Even worse, a major storm has effectively cut off all access to the outside world.
Can the girls find the real culprit and clear Laila’s name before it’s too late?