Laura Schaefer

A couple things here and there kept me from fully falling in love with this one, I did enjoy it though and I could see it being a favorite for young girls who aren’t quite ready yet for YA but want to dip their toe into things like crushes and strained friendships.

I spent the novel wishing Annie’s crush was more worthy of crushing on. There is certainly some realism in not really looking beyond appearance especially at thirteen years old but I just really wanted a deeper reason for Annie show more to be interested in this boy, particularly when she made decisions about her grandmother’s shop, compromising her own sensibilities in large part to impress him.

While I loved that Annie is so proactive about trying to save the tea shop, it seemed like a stretch that an adult would take out a bank loan and make massive changes to their business on the advice of two young teenagers (though maybe that in part explains why the grandmother’s shop is in trouble). Things may have been a little easier to swallow had Annie’s parents been more involved alongside Annie in the grandmother’s struggles and actually I wanted more of Annie’s family in the story, a few more conversations with her parents and interactions with her siblings would have been really welcome.

Aside from the cute illustrations and tea advertisements sprinkled throughout, the other super charming aspect of this book is the sense of place whether describing the flowers in Madison, Wisconsin or all the details inside the tea shop and the rapport with the customers, it was just so picturesque, it makes you wish you could stop in for a visit. show less

While this is a follow-up to The Tea Shop Girls, this is enough its own story that it could pretty easily be read as a standalone if you don’t have access to that first book.

I liked the romantic aspect of this one more than the unworthy crush in The Tea Shop girls. What I appreciated here was just how age appropriate it seemed, these kids are really young so I liked that Annie and this boy’s feelings were mostly confused and hesitant which felt about right for being twelve or thirteen show more years old.

As an adult reader I at times craved a little less simplicity in the writing and a little more emotional depth but for the actual intended audience which is probably on the very youngest end of middle-grade, there’s a lot to like here with experimenting to bake the perfect scone (recipes included), heroines who are very driven towards reaching their goals, and supportive friendships that steer each other in the right direction whenever they veer off course. show less

A girl's worries surrounding family, school, and the state of the world around her smack face-first into the impossibility of time travel and the true meaning of home.

Abby can't help it; she worries. She worries about her mother, who always has her head in her job. She worries about moving to Florida and leaving her best friend behind. She even worries about the way humans mishandle the world and is sure that present-day-life is in fact a dystopia. While trying...or not so much...to handle show more the move to Florida as best she can, Abby runs into two boys, who obviously need her help. Without a moment's thought, she buys the shakes and takes them to her father's boat, where they can sleep for the night. Little does she realize that when they say that they're far from home, they're speaking of hundreds of years in the future. And if they don't find the person they're searching for, the entire future of the world is at stake.

It took me a little bit to sink into this read, since I was expecting something different, but this 'different' ended up being much better. While this is a time travel read and stays solidly on the science fiction path, it reads with the wonderful subtleness of magical realism. Abby is introduced as a difficult girl, mostly due to her over-excessive worries. Her life is actually very comfortable, her parents have good jobs, and they love her very much. She isn't battling any huge trauma or bullying, but simply is overwhelmed by the negative aspects of the world around her. And yet, she's a very kind and generous person, and that's what lets her amazing friendships blossom and bloom. It was interesting and enjoyable to get to know her, and it does help bring the problem of anxiety down to a level the age group can understand.

While Abby steers the world of time travel and friends from the future, she also has some growing to do herself. These two aspects balance out very well. The tale rolls along at a steady pace, never lagging into boring and sometimes shifting into a quick sprint of action to keep the tension high enough to make the story grab. The three friends are on a time crunch and have a few sticky problems to figure out. Add a touch of first crushes, evil micro aliens, and it's fun. Plus, the family is pulled into this one and shows that even parents have true problems to deal with. Oh, and there's hope as well as not forgetting all the wonderful things life offers now and can in the future if we're willing to work for it.

I can recommend this one and found the way it all comes together original and well done. Not only science fiction fans will want to take a look at this one because it's about so much more. This one is all about hope and not forgetting all the wonderful things life has to offer. I received a DRC and found this well woven. show less

Annie, Genna, and Zoe have been the closest of friends and at the age of six they all fell in love with the Steeping Leaf. It was there that they were coined Teashop Girls, by Annie's Grandmother Louisa when they were almost too young to remember. The teashop was their childhood, they made treats and served them to each other for tea, and spent hours pouring over their Tea Handbook learning all there is to know, making up special advice and interesting uses for different types of tea. They show more even had a Teashop Girl rules one of them being that it was required to meet weekly for tea together.

Eight years later they are all still close friends, but there is much more to do now that they are in middle school. Annie discovers troubling news about the shop, it is likely to not be around much longer. After earning herself a position as a barista at the teashop, there is no stopping her, she wants to keep Steeping Leaf open! She wishes she could run to her best friends for help and support but will the years have allowed them to stop valuing their teashop the way she still does?

I adored the Teashop Girls. The writing was great, the characters developed to where I felt I knew them, and I couldn't put it down. The clocked ticked and I stayed up reading it hour after hour. I needed to know what was going to happen to the Steeping leaf, and the Teashop Girls!

What I respected the most about this young adult read is that it is one that I would actually let my kid read. I have read other books in this genre which are just to mopey, dark or depressing for me to want to pass on. The Teashop Girls however is spectacular. It isn't that the girls are perfect, or that they always do everything right, but they try and they know what is right and that is what makes the difference. Sure, they are in the midst of their awkward years (do those years ever end!?!?) but they have security in knowing who they are and this book is helping them develop a sense of what is important to them. Most of all I love Annie, she sees what she wants and grabs it, she is motivated, brilliant and extremely sweet...just my kind of gal! I strongly recommend this book, it is sure to satisfy, as long as it is read with a cup of tea in hand at all times.

For more of my reviews: http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/ show less