"This is a treasure of a book for the mid-grade girls in your life." ~Jocelyn

Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.)

Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world.

But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City—all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?

Jocelyn says:
"I am CRAZY about this mid-grade book!

11-year-old loner Gladys loves to cook—but must keep it a secret from her junk food addicted, fake sugar using, microwave everything parents. After almost setting the house on fire with her dad's blowtorch, she is forbidden to touch the stove, much less cook anything on it. A perceptive teacher helps Gladys help herself—with a little help from her (new) friends.

This book is a treasure, especially for the mid-grade girls in your life. It reminds me a bit of Harriet the Spy (with a foodie focus).

I loved loved LOVED it!"  ~Jocelyn             

"Rich in vocabulary as well characters and a satisfying ending make True Colors a sure bet for your mid-grade reader." ~Jocelyn

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock's beautifully told, warm hearted novel tells the story of one girl's journey to find the mother she never had, set against the period backdrop of a small farming town in 1950s Vermont. For her entire life, 10-year-old Blue has never known her mother. On a cold, wintry day in December of 1941, she was found wrapped in a quilt, stuffed in a kettle near the home of Hannah Spooner, an older townswoman known for her generosity and caring. Life with Hannah so far has been simple—mornings spent milking cows, afternoons spent gardening and plowing the fields on their farm. But Blue finds it hard not to daydream about her mother, and over the course of one summer, she resolves to finally find out who she is. That means searching through the back issues of the local newspaper, questioning the local townspeople, and searching for clues wherever she can find them. Her search leads her down a road of self-discovery that will change her life forever.

Jocelyn says:
"Evocative of Anne of Green Gables, True Colors is a wonderful story of an adopted 10 year old girl named Blue and Hannah, the 73 year old Vermonter who found her in her mailbox when she was just 2 days old. Work is hard on their farm and money is scarce, but theirs is a small town in which neighbors help neighbors and you can count on your friends.
 
Well, that's what Blue thought 'til her best friend came back for the summer all putting on airs and such. Between that and wondering when her mystery mother would come back and whisk her away in a fancy car, it's hard to believe she had time to fit in her new job at the town newspaper and keep up with her chores.
 
Rich in vocabulary as well characters and a satisfying ending make True Colors a sure bet for your mid-grade reader."