Synopses & Reviews
Ariel is the head chef in her family kitchen. Cucumber salads, fettuccine carbonara, fish tacos, and peanut butter pie are just a few of the dishes she crafts when shes feeling frustrated by the world. And its turning into a frustrating year. Ariel, Nicki, and Mattie have been inseparable friends since they were little kids, but now Matties mom has decided to move away. Its the girls last year in middle school, and they cant fathom being separated. The friends concoct a plan that will keep Mattie in the Bay area shell move in with Ariel and her family. But before you can say "bff," the party is over. Everything Mattie does gets on Ariels nerves, and its not long before the girls are avoiding each other. This was supposed to be their best year ever, but some painful lessons are threatening to tear their friendship apart. Can the girls scramble to make things right before the bond crumbles?
Review
"Funny, self-aware 14-year-old Ariel 'find[s] making fantastic food gives me sanity' in this highly entertaining and multilayered sequel to
Discovering Pig Magic (2008). Crabtree is particularly adept at capturing the emotional life of teens. The ease with which she weaves Ariel's clear (and fabulous) recipes and passion for cooking into this story about how even close friends can change unexpectedly is equally impressive. Though very much a work of fiction, it's also an inspiring introduction into how a young chef thinks, and it does in fact include interesting and helpful cooking tips. Creative and refreshing like a good soufflé, this perceptive, heartfelt narrative nevertheless has real meat on its bones."
Kirkus Reviews