Pie

Warning: If you read Pie by Sarah Weeks you had better either eat first or have pie on hand. You should probably have a pie on hand either way. This is book will make you want to eat one or three.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When Alice's Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie-crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily surly cat Lardo . . . and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice.Suddenly Alice is thrust into the center of a piestorm, with everyone in town trying to be the next pie-contest winner ... including Alice's mother and some of Alice's friends. The whole community is going pie-crazy . . . and it's up to Alice to discover the ingredients that really matter. Like family. And friendship. And enjoying what you do.

Pie is a Middle Grade historical fiction set in a small Pennsylvania town in the 1950's. The plot of the book covers just a couple of days in the life of Alice but through several flashbacks we get a complete picture of her, the small town that is her home, and her beloved Aunt Polly. This is a short book that uses a lot of old tropes: the boy/girl friendship (though it really is JUST a friendship), a quirky town full of quirky people, parents that don't understand the main character, a mysterious stranger in town, a mystery to solve. Weeks doesn't do anything new with these tropes, but she did write them well. Alice is a sympathetic character, Charlie an interesting one, and their friendship reads genuine. If you or someone you know is looking for a sweet short predictable read about small towns and friendship this is a book to keep in mind. While it was a nice afternoon's read the only strong impression it left on me was an overwhelming desire to eat pie. (And I'm not a pie eater.) The pie descriptions are well done for sure. And there are recipes included.

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