The Secret Ingredient by Laura Schaefer

Annie from The Teashop Girls is back and this time she's in a baking contest!

Ms. Schaefer sent me a copy of her book for review (thank you).  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader's has published this book and you can snag a copy now.

I enjoyed "The Teashop Girls" so I was looking forward to seeing what the three young teens were up to now.  They are having growing pains from puberty and their friendships are altering as they mature.  Annie is still jumping to conclusions.

Genna has gone away to school and is coming back for a visit.  Zoe is now going "green" and raising organic crops and trying to get schools to serve healthier foods to children.  Annie is working in the tea shop with her Grandmother and experimenting with cooking.

When Annie finds out that she can win a trip to London by winning the bake-off, she's in.  And she expects her friends to help.  She's working on scones and there are recipes in the book to help you practice on them, too.

Zach is my favorite character.  He teases Annie, gets in the way, and even steals a kiss from her which confuses her greatly.  She doesn't like him so how could his kiss make her feel like this, kind of warm and fuzzy?

Nothing works out quite as smoothly as Annie had planned (that's the way life is), someone is cheating, and will Annie win?  Get yourself a copy of this book and see for yourself.

This is a good read for young teens.  It's a simple story with good recipes and good lessons about life.  What's not to like?

Happy reading.

The Tea Shop Girls by Laura Schaefer

Annie Green is a young teenager who knows how to make a GOOD cup of tea. Her grandmother taught her how to do it just right. When she asks if she can help her grandmother in her tea shop, she's hired - with no pay. Louisa is running the shop by herself since her husband's death, and it is getting harder and harder for her to pay the bills. That's no problem, Annie will rescue her! After all, she has her Teashop Girls to help.

Old tea ads, recipes, tea history and stories are interspersed in the book between chapters. They make a nice little break and are intertwined in the story itself.

To add to problems Annie is trying to fix, there is a young man working at the shop that she has a crush on. He has ideas, too, but are they the right ones for the shop?

Young adult girls should relate well to the characters and their problems - it's what puberty is all about. The author's writing is smooth and flows well, it will hold the reader's attention.

Laura Schaefer sent me this ARC for review.

If you would like my copy of this book, please leave a comment here on the blog, and then email me at info @ bookfaerie.com (remove the spaces) giving me your name and address and telling me why you want it. I'll pick a winner in about a week.