Laurel Remington, The Secret Cooking Club, Scholastic Australia, Oct 2016, 288pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781910655245
Yummy food, pre-teen angst, social awkwardness, a fraught maternal relationship and an innocent crush – this is a recipe for a great read!
Scarlett’s mother is a popular blogger, which is great really except for the fact that she uses all of Scarlett’s most embarrassing secrets as fodder for her online content. The only thing Scarlett can do is quit all of her extra curricular activities and isolate herself from her friends so her Mum has absolutely nothing of interest to write about. Oh, and never let her mum know she is upset or angry with any of it!
It’s not until her elderly neighbour has a fall and ends up in hospital that Scarlett’s world is turned upside down. She discovers a hidden treasure in the empty house next door. A gourmet kitchen, an endless supply of fresh ingredients that seemingly appear out of nowhere and a beautifully hand written and illustrated recipe book send Scarlett’s heart racing and mind spinning. Add in a new friend from school and so begins the Secret Cooking Club.
This is a lovely story that captures the longing of a child to have what once was. Scarlett craves the relationship she once had with her mother, one of open and honest discussion, sharing ideas and experiences. She also longs for her ‘old self’, the self who had fun, friends and laughter in abundance. Scarlett can’t see a way to get any of this back and so enters her isolation and misery. She lives in her own little world where every snicker or side look is someone laughing at her latest faux pas aired on her mother’s blog for all to see.
I really liked that the supporting characters were not one-dimensional and were in fact given the opportunity to develop along with Scarlett throughout the telling of this story. As each character unfolded a lesson could be taken for the reader, be grateful for what you have as others have it a lot worse and it’s better to be assertive when it counts than sit back passively and miserably, are two examples of such lessons. Then of course, we can’t forget the healing power of good food! It brings people together and reignites welcomed but long forgotten memories.
If you like delicious food, a feel-good story and you’re eleven years old this is one for you!
Reviewed by Katie Mineeff
