Out Now from Delacorte Press (Random House) click to order
The Secret Ingredient: Dish by Stewart Lewis
Serves: 1 hungry reader
Prep time: 0 minutes
Total time: 1-2 sittings
Recommended equipment: Something comfortable to curl up on, snacks, quiet, reading glasses (as needed)
Ingredients:
1 dash girl, Olivia, sixteen
2 dollops loving dads, Bell and Enrique
3 fistfuls guitar-playing older brother, Jeremy
1 pint-sized Lola, British best friend
5 gallons family trouble,
1/2 smidgen warning, from psychic on elevator
6 pound vintage cookbook, w/ notes from past
25 recipes, the map of a world
1 search kneaded, for a mother never known
2 hints hope, a key and a name
3/4 pinch romance, w/ a cute boy named Theo
Directions:
Pit life as you know it. Marinate in summertime.
Add the secret ingredient. Stir Gently.
Serve with love, in Silverlake, L.A.
“Kissed with hope and possibility . . . the sort of book that makes you believe in the magic of everyday life and love.”--Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds
“A delicious story. You’ll devour it.”--Melissa Kantor, author of The Darlings in Love
“It doesn’t get any better than this—a touching tale of first love, family, and finding out who we really are.”--Alissa Grosso, author of Popular and Ferocity Summer
“Lewis offers a thoughtful story about food and family . . . Olivia’s passions feel real throughout the book, from her crush on a boy that got away to her cooking (readers who share her culinary interests will come away with quite a few ideas) and her search for answers about the mother she never met. Teens seeking direction and control in their own lives will gladly accompany Olivia as she works to put hers in order.”--Publisher’s Weekly
“Some solid cooking tips shared by the main character, an aspiring chef, are an added bonus to this slick new enjoyable novel . . . Nuanced characters, including the talented protagonist and her loving but realistically flawed family, are the stars of this introspective and poignant coming-of-age tale. It should win fans among those who appreciate a good balance between depth and a playful tone."--Kirkus Reviews
“The portrayal of a loving and supportive unconventional family is well done. . . . Olivia is a sympathetic protagonist and her struggles to find her place will resonate with many readers. Enjoyable chick lit.”--School Library Journal
Serves: 1 hungry reader
Prep time: 0 minutes
Total time: 1-2 sittings
Recommended equipment: Something comfortable to curl up on, snacks, quiet, reading glasses (as needed)
Ingredients:
1 dash girl, Olivia, sixteen
2 dollops loving dads, Bell and Enrique
3 fistfuls guitar-playing older brother, Jeremy
1 pint-sized Lola, British best friend
5 gallons family trouble,
1/2 smidgen warning, from psychic on elevator
6 pound vintage cookbook, w/ notes from past
25 recipes, the map of a world
1 search kneaded, for a mother never known
2 hints hope, a key and a name
3/4 pinch romance, w/ a cute boy named Theo
Directions:
Pit life as you know it. Marinate in summertime.
Add the secret ingredient. Stir Gently.
Serve with love, in Silverlake, L.A.
“Kissed with hope and possibility . . . the sort of book that makes you believe in the magic of everyday life and love.”--Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds
“A delicious story. You’ll devour it.”--Melissa Kantor, author of The Darlings in Love
“It doesn’t get any better than this—a touching tale of first love, family, and finding out who we really are.”--Alissa Grosso, author of Popular and Ferocity Summer
“Lewis offers a thoughtful story about food and family . . . Olivia’s passions feel real throughout the book, from her crush on a boy that got away to her cooking (readers who share her culinary interests will come away with quite a few ideas) and her search for answers about the mother she never met. Teens seeking direction and control in their own lives will gladly accompany Olivia as she works to put hers in order.”--Publisher’s Weekly
“Some solid cooking tips shared by the main character, an aspiring chef, are an added bonus to this slick new enjoyable novel . . . Nuanced characters, including the talented protagonist and her loving but realistically flawed family, are the stars of this introspective and poignant coming-of-age tale. It should win fans among those who appreciate a good balance between depth and a playful tone."--Kirkus Reviews
“The portrayal of a loving and supportive unconventional family is well done. . . . Olivia is a sympathetic protagonist and her struggles to find her place will resonate with many readers. Enjoyable chick lit.”--School Library Journal
NOW OUT IN PAPERBACK AND AVAILABLE AS E-BOOK!
*an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults*
FEATURED on "TOUGH STUFF" table at Barnes and Noble Nationwide!!
YOU HAVE SEVEN MESSAGES - Stewart Lewis - Delacorte Press/Random House
It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in the East Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief. But when Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there--charged and with seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's secret life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth. Enlisting the help of her dreamy neighbor, Oliver, Luna begins to piece together the events leading up to her mother’s death and the people around her who may have kept deeper secrets than she would have liked. As Luna begins to question the society she lives in, she creates a medium for the hurt and the pain by taking photographs of her everyday world. Through these frames she is better able to understand that who we are at face value doesn’t make up the entire composition of the photograph. And that sometimes the answer isn’t always what we’re searching for.
"Luna is someone to weep with and to cheer for, to wish was your best friend. Readers will fall in love with Luna and her dazzling world."-Emily Wing Smith, Author of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE
"Following Luna through a hazy grief state after the death of her mother is like a beautiful dream. This book takes your hand and leads you on a wonder-filled adventure."-Melissa Walker, Author of SMALL TOWN SINNERS
"The love story element shines, and the book offers a nice window in the the life of privileged New York youngsters, refreshingly filled with protective and involved adults." - Kirkus Reviews
“Luna narrates her story in fluid, thoughtful prose, and her unfolding of her mother’s story is absorbing and, despite the more contemplative pace, genuinely suspenseful; her growing understanding of her parents as people rather than icons is delicately traced. . . . a lovely contemporary fairy tale, with a sad Upper West Side princess at the heart of it, and that’s a kind of folklore that many readers will enjoy.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Recommended
*an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults*
FEATURED on "TOUGH STUFF" table at Barnes and Noble Nationwide!!
YOU HAVE SEVEN MESSAGES - Stewart Lewis - Delacorte Press/Random House
It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in the East Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief. But when Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there--charged and with seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's secret life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth. Enlisting the help of her dreamy neighbor, Oliver, Luna begins to piece together the events leading up to her mother’s death and the people around her who may have kept deeper secrets than she would have liked. As Luna begins to question the society she lives in, she creates a medium for the hurt and the pain by taking photographs of her everyday world. Through these frames she is better able to understand that who we are at face value doesn’t make up the entire composition of the photograph. And that sometimes the answer isn’t always what we’re searching for.
"Luna is someone to weep with and to cheer for, to wish was your best friend. Readers will fall in love with Luna and her dazzling world."-Emily Wing Smith, Author of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE
"Following Luna through a hazy grief state after the death of her mother is like a beautiful dream. This book takes your hand and leads you on a wonder-filled adventure."-Melissa Walker, Author of SMALL TOWN SINNERS
"The love story element shines, and the book offers a nice window in the the life of privileged New York youngsters, refreshingly filled with protective and involved adults." - Kirkus Reviews
“Luna narrates her story in fluid, thoughtful prose, and her unfolding of her mother’s story is absorbing and, despite the more contemplative pace, genuinely suspenseful; her growing understanding of her parents as people rather than icons is delicately traced. . . . a lovely contemporary fairy tale, with a sad Upper West Side princess at the heart of it, and that’s a kind of folklore that many readers will enjoy.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Recommended
watch the book trailer!
