The Cookie Crumbles

by Alechia Dow and Tracy Badua

Book Overview

The Great British Bake Off meets Knives Out in this fun and propulsive middle grade novel following two best friends who must solve the mystery behind a baking competition gone awry.

Laila gave Lucy a cupcake on the second day of kindergarten, and they've been inseparable ever since. But the summer before eighth grade, they find out that since they live on opposite sides of town, they'll go to different high schools. Yuck

Then Laila's invited to compete at the Golden Cookie competition, which awards its winner admission and a full ride to the prestigious Sunderland boarding school, and it's the perfect opportunity. Sunderland doesn't just have an elite culinary program; it's also home to an elite journalism track, if only newscaster-hopeful Lucy could build up a strong enough portfolio to impress the scholarship committee.

But when one of the celebrity judges collapses after sampling Laila's showpiece, rumors of foul play swirl, with Laila rising to the top of the suspect list. Even worse, a major storm has effectively cut off all access to the outside world.

Can the girls find the real culprit and clear Laila's name before it's too late?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063254581
• ISBN13: 9780063254589
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Quill Tree Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Good Premise But-

I fully acknowledge I’m writing this review as a 30 something year old lady and I’m decidedly not the target demographic here so you know, grain of salt, all that. On one hand this was pretty cute and I think kids would find this to be a fun and engaging mystery. On the other, Laila and Lucy’s miscommunication made absolutely no sense to me and it should have been edited out imo since it didn’t really fit in with their characters and how well they know each other. Lucy also seemed very…flat? Her one character trait was she was obsessed with this one journalist and that was pretty much it. I can’t even get into the Laila love triangle set up right now, that trope feels so tired at this point. Also the way everyone kept screaming “murder!” when it was decidedly not a murder. And I wish it leaned more British Bake Off than Knives Out but that’s just my opinion. I’ll definitely be checking out the second book but I don’t know how excited I feel about it at this time.