Lisa Greenwald

While determination, friendship, and dreams create a girl to root for, the yummy food has the reader wishing they could visit the deli themselves.

Eleven-year-old Ellie has a great family, wonderful friends, and, best of all, delicious food whenever she wants thanks to the family's deli. Unfortunately, the deli's business has been going down hill. When she overhears her parents mentioning they might have to close for good, Ellie's world crashes around her. Not ready to ever give up the deli, show more she decides to see what she can do to save it. Luckily, she has amazing friends on her side...or maybe not. A new girl throws a wrench into her friendships, and she's learning that there's more problems to the deli than just the declining customer base. Even a wish on the special chicken soup might not be enough to save everything.

This is a charming read from beginning to end. Ellie is a character with a big heart, lots of love, and enough spunk to ensure she can't be underestimated. The dedication she has to her family and friends sets a wonderful foundation, which gives that extra sense of warmth. Friendship drama and family health issues bring all-to-familiar problems, which many readers can identify with in some way or another. While these add depth and heart, they also are handled in wholesome ways, which make Ellie that much more likeable as she does her best to stay afloat and still make a difference.

Ellie's personality drives this tale and inspires. Readers will enjoy watching how she and her friends find solutions where the adults cannot...and none of these stretch beyond the realm of reality. Instead, kids get the message that they can make a difference if they put forth the effort.

To top things off, there are simple but fun illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. There is also a recipe at the beginning of each chapter. These vary greatly not only in types of food (hearty to sweet), but also span a somewhat wide span of cooking skills, making sure that there are some recipes for the younger end of the age group as well as the upper. If nothing else, parents can lend a hand...which fits to the family togetherness of Ellie's deli. Also, the author has naturally worked in various facets of the Jewish culture and traditions. So, there's more than just a lovely story involved, and I can't wait to see what other adventures Ellie and the deli will bring in the future.
I received a DRC, enjoyed meeting Ellie quite a bit, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. show less

A trio of friends experience a lot of drama throughout the first half of the school year as they deal with planning a dance, worrying about crushes, looming threats of moving, and not-so-successfully negotiating adding new friends to the mix.

This book is written almost entirely in text (complete with tons of emojis), with the addition of a few letters from the principal, handwritten notes, and emails. This may seem like a contrivance but it works incredibly well here. I love seeing a modern show more twist on the epistolary novel. Greenwald manages to build a compelling story with characters who feel real.

A big undercurrent in this book involves the introduction of a new girl to the school; she desperately wants to fit in and while the three main friends don't intend to be mean, they end up being exactly so. I like the idea that no one really sets out to be the bully but sometimes it happens if a person isn't consciously trying otherwise. I think this is important for kids (and adults) to realize and hope this book will help them examine their own social relationships. show less

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Excellent
Recommended: Recommended
Level: Middle School

TBH, this book is pretty stinking cute.

Gabby, Priyanka, and Cecily are three best friends in the sixth grade learning how to navigate first crushes, school dances, and new classmates. A lot of issues arise throughout the story, like social media misuse, bullying, and a bit of stalkerish, pushy behavior. It’s hard to agree with one party in regards to the issues being presented because no one is show more completely innocent.

New girl Victoria feels unwelcome in her new school and takes it upon herself to take some of her classmates phone numbers from the school registry and just randomly start texting them. While this isn’t the worst offense possible, it’s still a little bit of a violation of privacy. It would have been different if she had asked the classmates first if they were comfortable with her contacting them, but instead she just went full speed ahead and basically pushed into their social circle. On the other side of the spectrum, Cece, Gabby and Pri were not all the most welcoming, and while they didn’t think they were being outright mean to Victoria, they didn’t realize that by ignoring her, they were hurting her feelings just as badly as if they were to say nasty things to or about her. In the end however, things get resolved and wrapped up nicely. Everyone realizes that it’s easier to just be nice, and give others a chance and get to know them before making any judgments.

My favorite thing about this book was that the entire thing was told in text and email format with lots of emojis. It really enhanced the story and made it easy for pacing purposes and atmosphere. Young kids are really obsessed with their phones and texting their friends so it portrayed their age group quite well and dug into the real life issue of cyber bullying. I love stories that are told in mixed media, especially text. It makes things more interesting and definitely helps with finishing the story faster.

Overall, this was a really cute read and a great way for young girls and boys to learn a lesson about social media behavior and acceptance. show less

Students are loving this series, and I can see why. The deceptively simple format tells a convincing story of sixth graders dealing with all the pressure, stress and conflict of being 11ish. It must be a relief to kids who read this and feel like someone really understands what they are dealing with. Can't wait to read the rest of the series, but it'll be a while before I can snag it from one of the kids.