August 1, 2007
Gr 9 Up-For Molly and Cassie, lunch is more troublesome than for most of the students at Sunshine Day High School, a school run by hippies and "peopled with an astonishing collection of freaks." Molly is a blue-haired loner and describes Cassie as, "too tall and too blond and too athletic." After being forced to work together on a class assignment, the two butt heads and their differences explode in a mountain of potatoes in the lunch room. A food fight between them results in the resignation of the lunch lady and a most unusual punishment. They must prepare lunch every day until the students decide their meals are satisfactory. Unfortunately, they have two very significant problems. They can't cook and they can't get along. Through many hilarious tries, the girls eventually find a recipe for success in the kitchen and in their friendship. Molly's sarcastic commentary brings out her endearing personality and sparks the other characters to life. The entertaining plot moves along at a rapid pace that allows the author to address the state of school lunches today without being overbearing. The narrative is peppered with delicious recipes for any budding lunch ladies out there. This novel is for all students who have ever questioned the quality of their midday meal."Julianna M. Helt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA"
Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2007
Molly is a blue-haired, acid-tongued Scrooge; Cassie is a determinedly perky cheerleader type. Their forced partnership on a sophomore English project leads to a D, then to a food fight, then to lunch duty, which leads to an epic food fight...and the cycle culminates with the dining staff quitting and Molly and Cassie taking over the lunch program as punishment. Spectacular failures at both cooking and civility gradually give way to modest successes as Molly's layers of defensiveness peel away, allowing friendships to blossom with Cassie and others. Meanwhile, both girls become passionate about raising the bar on school lunch. Bradley keeps things pleasantly light: Molly is a misanthrope not because of any great drama but because it's simply her way of dealing with the typical high-school rollercoaster. Her snappy, character-defining dialogue is spot on, as is the dry situational humor, which infiltrates even the more touching scenes. Setting the whole saga in a hippie-founded private school makes the girls' punishment believable while allowing for such throwaway quirks as a student initiative for hemp-based toilet paper and a (male) principal who says things like "I'm very curious to know who pulled my ponytail" after breaking up a fight.
(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)