Elspeth Lorraine

Do you like books about orphans? Evil bakers? Eclairs? Sinister Sweetness? Then this is the book for you! It was past time for me to review a middle grade book and I’ve got a delicious one for you today. 

Basil and Dahlia are orphaned after their parents died in a freak exploding greenhouse accident. Their social worker wants to split them up into different foster care homes and that simply won’t work! After jumping off one moving train, jumping on another moving train and finding themselves in New York City, they find super fantastic accommodations with celebrity baker Laurel Fox. But things aren’t exactly as cushy as they appear. Especially when Laurel starts collecting their tears for a brownie recipe (Gasp!). Our dry narrator takes us through each of the kid’s emotions from grief to fear and their residual survivors' guilt. I won’t spoil the ending, but you’ll enjoy this romp of really bad bad guys and plucky and deserving orphans. 

Bits and Pieces: The illustrations were digitally rendered and add to the spookiness! I like how neurodivergence and learning disabilities are treated with respect, and not as something to overcome. I see a lot of books that authors use these issues as ways of developing characters or as a way to evince pity for a character which doesn’t really ring true anymore because these things are quite common now. We don’t have to hide the things that make us different. We just have to learn to live with them. 

Not Sure About: I want there to be a sequel and I don’t know if we’ll get one. 

Favorite Part(s): Best line in the book “it is a truth universally acknowledged that book people are thoughtful and intelligent, compassionate and discerning, the same people who rescue kittens and tear up when faced with the slightest injustice.” That is completely accurate.