Review by Booklist Review
Soon-to-be eighth-graders Laila and Lucy bonded over a cupcake in kindergarten and have been best friends since. Determined to attend the baking and journalism programs, respectively, at the prestigious (and prohibitively expensive) Sunderland Academy, the friends set out for the weekend-long Golden Cookie competition, in which ambitious Laila will compete and on which insightful Lucy will report, each hoping to secure a scholarship to the boarding school. Competitor tensions run high, then escalate, when belittling celebrity chef Remi collapses under suspicion of foul play. The contest continues amid finger-pointing--mostly at Laila--as the friends narrow the list of suspects while observing odd behavior on the suspiciously isolated campus. A light friendship drama underpins the tidy and fairly gentle mystery revealed through similarly voiced first-person chapters and journal entries from each girl. Badua (The Takeout, 2023) delivers another food-centric middle-grade story with pastry chef turned librarian Dow (The Kindred, 2022) lending culinary credibility to Laila's baking exploits. A cozy baking-centered mystery for fans of Rachelle Delaney's Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster (2021) and Janae Mark's Zoe Washington books.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
After the attempted murder of a judge derails a cooking competition for tween bakers, "soon-to-be eighth graders" Lucy and Laila resolve to find the would-be killer in this expertly paced mystery. Because of their town's "weirdly drawn school district lines," talented baker Laila and ambitious journalist Lucy are determined to win the Golden Cookie Competition, held at prestigious Sunderland Academy; if Laila receives the Sunderland full-ride scholarship prize and Lucy impresses the school's scholarship committee with a dazzling piece about the contest, they can attend high school together. As an unexpected last-minute competitor, Laila feels like an underdog, but Lucy's encouragement gives her the confidence to face off against the affluent participants and impress sugary-sweet Chef Polly and scornful Chef Remi, the celebrity judges. But when a bite of one of Laila's triple chocolate cookies sends Remi to the hospital, the girls notice something amiss about the whole competition, vowing to find the poisoner and clear Laila's name. Employing alternating first-person POVs intercut with the girls' journal entries, Badua (The Takeout) and Dow (Just a Pinch of Magic) craft an appetizing, cozy-adjacent mystery that rests upon abundant cooking content and a supportive friendship. Laila is Black; Lucy has light brown skin. Ages 8--12. Agents: (for Badua) Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary; (for Dow) Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
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
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
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) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
