A la Carte
By Tanita S. Davis
(Knopf Books for Young Readers, Hardcover, 9780375848155, 288pp.)
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Paperback,
Categories: Cooking & Food, Social Issues - General
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SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD LAINEY DREAMS of becoming a world famous chef one day and maybe even having her own cooking show. (Do you know how many African American female chefs there aren’t? And how many vegetarian chefs have their own shows? The field is wide open for stardom!) But when her best friend—and secret crush—suddenly leaves town, Lainey finds herself alone in the kitchen. With a little help from Saint Julia (Child, of course), Lainey finds solace in her cooking as she comes to terms with the past and begins a new recipe for the future.
Peppered with recipes from Lainey’s notebooks, this delicious debut novel finishes the same way one feels finishing a good meal—satiated, content, and hopeful.
This is Tanita S. Davis’s first novel. She made her first pâte à choux in high school, discovered that Mae Ploy sauce goes with almost everything, and that there’s nothing on earth like good Thai food. She lives in Northern California with two finches, a snake named Willful, and the world’s best baker.
“Davis’s debut offering is as delightful and fulfilling as the handwritten recipes in progress included at the end of each chapter.”—Kirkus Reviews
"A book with a lot of heart. Readers will relate to Lainey, who doesn't always say the right thing, who has a love-hate relationship with her mother, and who finds her dreams realized at the novel's end." —School Library Journal
"Davis's first novel shows much promise for good things to come. Too few novels feature well-drawn, well-educated, middle-class African American characters like Lainey and her family." —Booklist
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