a la Carte

For seventeen-year-old Lainey life is...well, life. She wakes up every day to the same old routine--breakfast, Jazz class, and school. Besides her enjoyment for her early morning Jazz class, the best part of her day comes when the final bell rings and she can head to her mother's restaurant. While her mother spends time with the business aspects of the restaurant, Lainey oscillates between doing homework in the office and creating new recipes in the kitchen. She dreams of becoming the first female African-American chef with a vegetarian cooking show, and she has a plan to make it happen. But, when her plan is upset with her ex-best friend's need for some quick money, Lainey empties her bank account and deceives those who she loves the most to help him out. The only thing left for Lainey now is to figure out how to get back on the path that will take her life where she wants it to go. //A La Carte// is a well- but simply-written and engaging novel that illustrates how even when we think we've lost it all, life's challenges can make us who it is we wanted to be in the first place. Reviewed by Kim Hudson Raffanelli

A la Carte is an inviting first course from newcomer Tanita S. Davis. Her blend of mouthwatering recipes and heartfelt characters makes for a delightful read. Recommend for kids 12 and up, especially anyone with an interest in cooking, or at a crossroads figuring out who they want to be.

Lainey, at age seventeen, is an innovative cook. When she whips up tasty treats in the kitchen at home or the restaurant where her mother works, she is content. She scribbles her recipes in a notebook and dreams of having her own cooking program on television. She shares her creations with her classmates and her mom's co-workers. Judging from their reactions, she definitely has a future in culinary arts. Sadly, her best friend Sim does not share her determination nor her direction. Laine and Simeon were once extremely close, but in recent months, he has been skipping classes and hanging out with different people. Now, whenever he does talk to Laine, it's usually to ask for her science notes. He acts as though everything is okay, but she can tell something's up. Sim sinks deeper and deeper into trouble until he leaves his home, his school, and his town completely. Only knowing part of his plans, Lainey is unsure how much she should tell her mother and Sim's parents. Lainey is a great leading character. Full of questions and opinions, she is simultaneously looking forward to her future and appreciative of her past. She is proud of her abilities and her chosen career. Handwritten recipes appear through the book, complete with cross-outs, rings of condensation, and smudges, looking as though they were torn out of Lainey's notebooks. I love that she's a vegetarian, and that she tries to make her recipes both as healthy and as tasty as possible. The cooking sequences will make readers hungry (I know I was!), and the overlying mystery/worry about Sim will compel readers to keep on reading.