The Cookie Crumbles
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
