Summer of a Thousand Pies

by Margaret Dilloway

A heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel about a girl who must try to save her aunt's failing pie shop, perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Fish in a Tree-and The Great British Baking Show.

When Cady Bennett is sent to live with the aunt she didn't even know she had in the quaint mountain town of Julian, she isn't sure what to expect. Cady isn't used to stability, after growing up homeless in San Diego with her dad.

Now she's staying in her mother's old room, exploring the countryside filled with apple orchards and pie shops, making friends, and working in Aunt Shell's own pie shop-and soon, Cady starts to feel like she belongs.

Then she finds out that Aunt Shell's shop is failing. Saving the business and protecting the first place she's ever really felt safe will take everything she's learned and the help of all her new friends. But are there some things even the perfect pie just can't fix

Summer of a Thousand Pies is a sweet and satisfying treat of a novel full of friendship, family, and, of course, pie.

• ISBN10: 0062803468
• ISBN13: 9780062803467
• Publish Date: 16 April 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062803467

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Cady had to grow up fast. As the child of an addict, she knew homelessness, abandonment, and hunger. All things I wished she had never known. When her father was taken into custody, she was placed in the care of an aunt she never knew she had, and that was when Cady started to see things a little differently.

First and foremost, I really did like Cady. She had it tough, and because of that, she had trust issues. Her mother died, her father was unreliable, and she was forced to depend on herself. Given her history of being in and out of the foster care system, being homeless, and being bullied, among other things, she was still able to maintain some sort of optimism.

Which was why I loved seeing her grow and flourish once she moved in with her aunt Shell and her partner, Suzanne. Cady had to learn a lot about living with a family and trusting people, but she did, slowly but surely.

Her connection to Shell was very special. Shell was a little hard on the outside, but she shared her love of baking with Cady, and Suzanne was there to nurture when needed. Together, they were a great team, and it wasn't just Suzanne and Shell, who were there for Cady. There was actually a big community element in this book, which was quite lovely, and reinforced the idea, that it's ok to accept help from others, when you need it.

I did feel like there were a lot of side issues incorporated into the story, which didn't necessarily fit with the central plot. I understand the author may have felt compelled to included these issues, but I didn't feel they advanced Cady's story, and I thought that in a book packed with quite a few issues (and almost 400 pages in length), it made the story longer than it needed to be, and it dragged a little under all that weight.

Overall, this was a lovely story of family, friendship, and community. The final event was so joyful, and it warmed my heart seeing everyone pull together.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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