Midsummer’s Mayhem

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What to expect

Can Mimi undo the mayhem caused by her baking in this contemporary fantasy retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad’s a renowned food writer, Mom’s a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It’s easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi’s dream of proving she’s not the least talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it’ll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay.

But when Mimi’s dad returns from a business trip, he’s mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Without his help, Mimi will never be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame.

Drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song, Mimi meets Vik, a boy who brings her to parts of the forest she’s never seen. Who knew there were banyan trees and wild boars in Massachusetts? Together they discover exotic ingredients and bake them into delectable and enchanting treats.

But as her dad acts stranger every day, and her siblings’ romantic entanglements cause trouble in their town, Mimi begins to wonder whether the ingredients she and Vik found are somehow the cause of it all. She needs to use her skills, deductive and epicurean, to uncover what’s happened. In the process, she learns that in life, as in baking, not everything is sweet.

Critics Review

u201cYou donu2019t need to be a Shakespeare fan to enjoy this modern fantasy twist on A Midsummer Nightu2019s Dream, and the third act (so to speak) takes a wonderful, unexpected turn.u201d

IndieBound

u201cOriginal and compelling. The realistic characters and complex family dynamics augment the tightly knit plotu2026A delectable treat.u201d

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

u201cEnchantment reigns, yet the authoru2019s exploration of family, friendship, and self-esteem are firmly grounded in reality.u201d

Publishers Weekly

u201cA sensitive and thoughtful novel that addresses family dynamics and self-confidenceu2026Readers will relate to Mimiu2019s attempts to stand out and find her place.u201d

School Library Journal

u201cNarrator Ariana Delawariu2019s childlike pitch and pacing perfectly capture the magical realism of this delicious spin on Shakespeareu2019s A Midsummer Nightu2019s Dreamu2026Delawari gives distinct voices to Mimiu2019s older siblings and slight accents to the anachronistic bakery staff. Bird songs in the forest heighten the mood of otherworldly wonder.u201d

AudioFile

u201cThis riff on A Midsummer Nightu2019s Dream is heartfelt and ridiculously fun. Mimi, sweet as sugar with a heart of gold, creates as many problems as she solves, but readers will be cheering for her and her family the whole way.u201d

Booklist

u201cA sweet and fun story about mistaken identity, bumpy romance, and the everyday magic of baking.u201d

Barbara Dee, author of Star-Crossed and Halfway Normal

u201cLaugh-out-loud funny one moment and mouthwateringly delicious the next, Midsummeru2019s Mayhem is an utter pleasure to consume from the very first page.u201d

Tara Dairman, author of The Great Hibernation

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