All Four Stars

I had a sneaking suspicion I would fall in love with this book, and I was totally right. This is only my second five-star review of the year, and it's December. I'm thrilled!

This is a perfect children's book, filled with simple, fresh writing, sweet but interesting characters, and a fun but not overly dramatic plot. Plus, it's about food. Enough said! I love Dairman's simple but delightful turns of phrase, and her descriptions of food. Mmmm. I love her subtle humor. I love Gladys's precocious ways and the gradual formation of her friendships. I love that even the "mean popular girl" doesn't stay that way.

It doesn't have the in-depth character development or the agonizing conflicts of a more mature book, but it's still so much fun. The show more only thing I might pick on is that Gladys is a bit elitist concerning her parents' tastes (even if I, as someone who loves good food, can sympathize).

But overall, excellent. So much fun and so sweet. :) A new favorite for me. show less

Light, fun, all-around-nice book. There are some believability issues for grown-up readers, but the 9-year-old didn't mind them at all. Kiddo was very into the low-stress but high-interest plot surrounding food, cooking, and restaurant reviewing. I liked the treatment of friendships--as far as I'm concerned, the initially nasty-seeming popular girl is pretty much just HUNGRY--and the opening scene with the blowtorch was an instant hit for everybody :)

What a sweet and utterly charming middle grade novel. To be fair, my cooking skills are definitely more on par with Gladys' parents than Gladys and my palate is more Parm but I enjoyed the passion she exhibited for food and the misadventures she gets into because of it.

I loved the supporting cast of characters and the friendships Gladys developed with them all. I loved that even when they didn't all have the same passions, they still supported each other. Her quiet friendship with Mr Eng was great and I liked that Gladys inspires Charissa to branch out and frequent his shop. I loved the details when Gladys fills out all the employment forms - I had a chuckle when she reasoned that because she was deemed a freelancer she's working for show more free.

I understood where her parents were coming from with their worry over her cooking alone but I thought it was unfair they didn't encourage her passion more and work with her to find solutions they could all be happy about. Plus grounding her from cooking and everything related including cook books and cooking shows for six whole months was ridiculous and insanely over the top. I liked that her Aunt supports her and tries to sneak her ingredients and equipment.

I enjoyed the inclusion of her teacher as a real person who has her own passions and interests. I thought the inclusion of Ms Quincy's cover letter was inspired and I liked the emphasis on looking forward to the future and what could be if you work hard.

I'm having a real good run with middle grade novels lately. Between this and [b:The Charming Life of Izzy Malone|29430748|The Charming Life of Izzy Malone|Jenny Lundquist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474824458l/29430748._SY75_.jpg|49404419] I'm spoiled for great middle grade options. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. 5 stars. show less

If her parents had given her the minitorch Gladys Gatsby asked last Christmas she wouldn’t have set the kitchen curtains on fire with her father’s blow torch while making crème brulee. But her parents – who think microwaving tater tots is cooking, and prefer fast food takeout in any case – just don’t understand their daughter’s obsession with food and cooking. When her teacher assigns an essay on “my future” Gladys writes about how she wants to be a restaurant critic. Somehow that essay gets to the food editor for the New York Standard, who thinks it is written by an adult, and Gladys suddenly has a freelance assignment to write a review of New York’s hottest new dessert bistro. She only has to figure out how to sneak show more into the city and sample enough cakes, pies, tarts and custards to write a good review.

What a scrumptious debut! Gladys is a bright, resourceful, tenacious girl who will not let a few setbacks (like being grounded and not having any money) thwart her plans to succeed. Taking first her next door neighbor into her confidence and then her school friend Parm (who couldn’t be more different, since she eats nothing but cold cereal with milk and plain spaghetti), Gladys devises first one and then another plan to get into the city to sample the restaurant’s wares so she can write her first professional review.

I did think Gladys’s parents were a little over the top; they were more than clueless about their daughter’s talents and wishes, and seemed completely self-absorbed. Her school nemesis – Charissa – was little more than a cardboard stereotype for much of the book. And while I was pleased to see how inventive Gladys was in formulating her final plan, I was sorry to see her use Charissa as she did. On the other hand, I liked how Dairman showed friends who were NOT cookie-cutter duplicates of one another, but appreciated each other’s different talents and interests.

And, I absolutely loved Gladys, and the descriptions of the foods she ate or prepared. I gobbled this delectable treat down in less than a day, and was hungry for more. show less

This was a fun, lighthearted read. Although written for middle school readers, anyone will enjoy suspending their disbelief to discover how eleven-year-old Gladys Gatsby becomes a restaurant reviewer for the world-famous New York Standard newspaper. Throughout the novel the author sprinkles in a few charming plays on words, such as Gladys' friend Sandy's two rabbits: Edward Hopper and brother Dennis. And her aunt's endearing nicknames for Gladys, based on flowers. The plot cleverly evolves from Gladys being banished from the family's kitchen after setting the curtains on fire while making creme brulee with a blowtorch, to buttering up her sixth grade nemesis in order to get to a New York dessert restaurant. While the book had lots of show more food descriptions and several quirky characters, my only complaint is the lack of recipes. show less

I've been waiting forever for All Four Stars to cross my path. Just look at the cover? It screams adorable and that there will be a lot of talk about desserts. There were.

Gladys secretly learned how to cook and bake after school. One day, she makes a mistake with one of those mini blowtorches for creme brulees. She gets the curtains set on fire and her parents see her which leads to a monumental change in Gladys life.

Her parents are fast food types of people that don't know how to cook. They don't trust Gladys to cook because she's so young. They don't even understand why she cooks when she explains to them what she's been doing the last few years. This is her passion. But her parents aren't having any of it. Her parents are so show more ridiculous that I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows at them when all they did in the kitchen was put something in the microwave to heat up. The would "nuke it" in the microwave specifically. How are they not all fat?

Gladys and her parents get into a fight after the curtain burning which leads to her getting banned from cooking. That single act as well as her new teacher leads her down a path of food, risks, and friendship.

She gets this assignment about what she wants to be when she grows up. It gets sent as a job application for a food critic. So now Gladys is a food critic with no way to critique a restaurant! She has to scramble to find a way to meet her deadline. She has to go to the one person that she positively does not like to do so.

This was perfectly fun from beginning to end. I love the way the author writes. I like how the parents actually made right choices for her even when they haven't been doing so in regards to food. Gladys is a plucky little girl with passion and ambition. The food she describes in her critiques sound scrumptious which was just what I was hoping for. If you are looking for something light, fun, and to satisfy the inner foodie (or hungry) side of you I would check out All Four Stars. It won't disappoint. show less

Gladys Gatsby loves to cook and wants to be a food critic, but her parents are all about fast food. When her essay on her future career accidentally gets sent to the editor of a New York newspaper, all sorts of craziness ensues. A bit beyond my willing suspension of disbelief, and Gladys' parents are complete caricatures--no one is THAT clueless about good food.