Bake Believe by Cori Cooper – Review by Sherry Sharpnack

Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cat awakens on her last day of summer vacation, itching to get to the pool w/ her best pal and cousin Robyn, so they can flirt w/ boys and live their best lives. She meets super-cute Tobey and they share an amazing soft pretzel from a new bakery next door. Cat didn’t realize baked goods could taste so amazing b/c her mom never cooks. I mean, NEVER cooks, like she has a phobia or something.
School starts the next day, and horrors! There is a mix-up in Cat’s schedule and she ends up in Culinary class – w/ super-cute Tobey. Cat is SO embarrassed b/c she has NO IDEA how to read a recipe b/c remember, her mom has a phobia about cooking. But Cat’s Aunt Marissa is a GREAT cook, which Cat finds out by eating at Marissa’s house for once. Which is another thing her mom doesn’t usually allow.
Cat helps bake a batch of cookies, feeling very happy to be working w/ Tobey. Robyn helps herself to one of the cookies – and is just over the moon w/ joy. Hmmm? Why is Robyn in such a good mood all of a sudden? Cat’s mom and aunt freak out when they hear she’s been baking in school, and her mom insists she drop Culinary class. So Cat’s all upset when she bakes the next day, and everyone who eats the no-bake cookies from class is in a terrible mood afterwards.
OK, so what is going on? Why are Cat’s moods, while baking, affecting others?
This is an interesting premise to go on for a cute little story that should be entertaining for any middle-schooler. As an adult, we think “Eh, this too shall pass.” But the kids? Maybe if they read this, they’ll understand that our moods DO affect other people, even if we don’t have a “gift” for baking that Cat – or is it her whole family? – apparently does.
Big ideas about emotions are presented in an entertaining way – and each chapter is named for the baked good that Cat makes in that chapter, w/ a mouth-watering recipe for that item closing the chapter. The recipes are given w/ funny instructions, not the typical recipes in culinary cozy mysteries. And I love the unusual font for the chapter names; it looks like icing dripping off a cupcake. 3.7ish stars rounded up to 4 stars.

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