The Secret Ingredient
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Sixteen-year-old Olivia loves living in Silverlake, Los Angeles, with her dads, Bell and Enrique, and her brother, Jeremy. But when Olivia discovers that Bell's restaurant, FOOD, is in trouble, she applies for a job at a casting agency. The day of her interview, Olivia meets a psychic in an elevator who tells her that this summer will be pivotal. Soon after, Olivia stumbles upon a vintage cookbook with handwritten notes in the margins and starts to date a gorgeous boy named Theo. As Olivia reads the notes in the cookbook and cooks the recipes, she forms a kinship with the previous owner and becomes increasingly aware of the emptiness she feels without a mother. When Olivia discovers her birthmother's name and address, there's nothing to stop Olivia from meeting her. But sometimes the things we search for are the things we've always known.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lewis (You Have Seven Messages) offers a thoughtful story about food and family, set in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake. Sixteen-year-old Olivia and her older brother, Jeremy, are doing everything in their power to help with their adoptive fathers' finances, struggling restaurant, and faltering marriage. Olivia gets a job at a casting agency despite her disinterest in Hollywood (her dream is to attend Le Cordon Bleu in Paris), and Jeremy rents an ice cream truck, but their efforts only bring more turmoil. Olivia's chance meeting with a psychic and discovery of a vintage cookbook spark both an imaginary dialogue with a housewife from the 1960s and a true one with herself. 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. Ages 12 up.
