Midsummer's Mayhem

by Rajani LaRocca

Overview

A Kirkus Best Book of 2019!
An Indies Introduce Selection for 2019!
An Indie Next Pick for Summer 2019!

"A delectable treat for food and literary connoisseurs alike." Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"What a wonderful, intriguing, and magical book. And wow, did it ever get my tastebuds going! Each time I picked it up, I felt the urge to head to my kitchen. . . . What I loved most was the smartness of it. It never once doubted its young readers." Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor- and National Book Award-Nominated author

"Midsummer's Mayhem is an enchantment of a novel, bursting with magic, mystery, and mouth-watering baked goods. Readers who have their own baking-show dreams will be cheering for Mimi until the very last page." Kate Messner, award-winning author of Breakout, The Seventh Wish, and All the Answers

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 happening. In the process, she learns that in life, as in baking, not everything is sweet. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499808889
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	06/11/2019
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,099,940
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area with her wonderful family and impossibly cute dog. She earned a BA and an MD from Harvard, and spends her time writing novels and picture books, practicing medicine, and baking too many sweet treats. Midsummer's Mayhem is her first novel. Find her online at RajaniLaRocca.com and on Twitter and Instagram @rajanilarocca.

Editorial Reviews

05/06/2019

As the curtain raises on this reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Indian-American Mimi, 11, is reading her favorite cookbook when she hears a song drifting from the woods “like an irresistible aroma.” Debut author LaRocca liberally uses food metaphors to underscore Mimi’s passion for baking, which she shared with her sorely missed best friend who moved away. Hints of Shakespeare surface as Mimi’s brother Henry spouts lines from the school production, in which he plays Puck, whose character traits are reflected in Vik, the mysterious pipe-playing boy who befriends Mimi in the forest. While she experiments with recipes in hopes of winning a celebrity-judged Midsummer’s Eve baking contest and proving herself to her high-achieving parents and siblings, Mimi’s family and neighbors start talking and acting out in puzzling, inexplicable ways after sampling her herb- and flower-based confections. Though this mayhem provides some humorous moments, repetition and overstatement impede the pace of the story, until LaRocca—with Vik’s help—ties together its myriad threads in a satisfying finale. Enchantment reigns, yet the author’s exploration of family, friendship, and self-esteem are firmly grounded in reality. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Brent Taylor, TriadaUS. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Midsummer's Mayhem is a delightful confection of a family story full of heart, magic, and a baking championship with mysteriously high stakes! LaRocca takes an almost-throwaway reference in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and reclaims it by having a multiracial Indian-American family at the center of her tale. Mimi's pluck, gentle courage, and knack for combining flavors will capture readers' hearts, imaginations, and undoubtedly, taste buds!

author of the New York Times-bestselling Kiranmala Sayantani DasGupta

Rajani LaRocca has concocted a delectable story about family, friendship, baking, and magic that readers are sure to devour! Relatable, lovable Mimi is easy to root for, and LaRocca brings the whole cast of characters to life with her deft descriptions and realistic dialogue. Readers will delight in Midsummer's Mayhem!

Erin Dionne

This riff on A Midsummer Night's 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.

Booklist

What a wonderful, intriguing, and magical book. And wow, did it ever get my tastebuds going! Each time I picked it up, I felt the urge to head to my kitchen. . . . What I loved most was the smartness of it. It never once doubted its young readers.

Newbery Honor and National Book Award Nominated au Kathi Appelt

Taking its inspiration from one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, Midsummer's Mayhem is a sweet and fun story about mistaken identity, bumpy romance, and the everyday magic of baking.

author of Star-Crossed and Halfway Normal Barbara Dee

An entertaining and epicurean retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream. . . . Strikes a perfect balance between the pleasant and the melancholy, as sweet and savory as one of Mimi's confections.

Shelf Awareness

Laugh-out-loud funny one moment and mouthwateringly delicious the next, Midsummer's Mayhem is an utter pleasure to consume from the very first page! LaRocca's debut novel entices and bewitches-I dare you not to fall under its spell.

author of The Great Hibernation and the award-winn Tara Dairman

An absolute delight-LaRocca's delectable debut is whimsical, frothy, and so much fun. An inventive take on a classic comedy, Midsummer's Mayhem is a sweetly-told tale of family, friendship, and following your passion. This is a book for the dreamers and doers alike; effervescent, full of heart, and ultimately joyful.

author of Two Naomis and Eighth-Grade Superzero Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Midsummer's Mayhem is an enchantment of a novel, bursting with magic, mystery, and mouth-watering baked goods. Readers who have their own baking-show dreams will be cheering for Mimi until the very last page.

Kate Messner

Absolutely scrumptious! I fell in love with this book and devoured it in one day. LaRocca crafts a spell of tricky fairies, lovable mortals, and heartfelt magic. Mimi is determined, resourceful, and unfailingly kind. Perfect for aspiring bakers, younger siblings, or anyone with a passion.

author of the Love Sugar Magic series Anna Meriano

This riff on A Midsummer Night's 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.

Booklist

Midsummer's Mayhem is a delightful confection of a family story full of heart, magic, and a baking championship with mysteriously high stakes! LaRocca takes an almost-throwaway reference in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and reclaims it by having a multiracial Indian-American family at the center of her tale. Mimi's pluck, gentle courage, and knack for combining flavors will capture readers' hearts, imaginations, and undoubtedly, taste buds!

author of the NYT bestselling Kiranmala and the Ki Sayantani DasGupta

06/01/2019

Gr 4–7—Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson is the youngest in a family of overachievers. Between her older siblings' many activities and her parents' busy work lives, Mimi feels lost in the shuffle and longs for her own moment in the spotlight. When she learns about a contest held by the mysterious new bakery in town, Mimi sees a chance to distinguish herself and jump-start her dream of becoming a celebrity chef like her idol Puffy Fay. But she struggles to find inspiration with the loss of her best friend Emma, who recently moved to Australia, and the advice of her dad, who overnight seems to have lost his impressive sense of taste. Then one day, while searching for ingredients and ideas in the woods, Mimi meets a boy who shows her areas she's never visited before. She is surprised to discover Banyan trees and a wild boar in the Massachusetts forest, along with delicious nectar-filled flowers and other ingredients that she incorporates into her baking. Things at home go from weird to weirder, with her father continuing to eat more food than seems humanly possible, her sisters caught up in an intense and absurd love triangle, and her brother suddenly in love with his own reflection. Despite the mayhem, Mimi pushes forward toward her goal of winning the contest. This delightful and delicious spin on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream flows beautifully into a sensitive and thoughtful novel that addresses family dynamics and self-confidence alongside mouth-watering descriptions of food. Readers will relate to Mimi's attempts to stand out and find her place and will be thrilled by the magical baking. VERDICT A first purchase for most libraries, especially where titles like Kathryn Littlewood's "Bliss Bakery" and Anna Meriano's "Love Sugar Magic" series are popular.—Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

★ 2019-04-28
Eleven-year-old Mira "Mimi" Mackson is a baking prodigy from a small Massachusetts town called Comity (a thinly disguised Concord).

Mimi is the youngest member of a large family: Her Indian American mom is a successful software consultant, her white dad is a renowned food writer and critic, and her three older siblings (all biracial, like Mimi) excel at acting, dance, and soccer. Although Mimi enjoys creating new treats for her family and experimenting with uncommon flavors, she sometimes feels out of place and invisible amid her accomplished siblings. When a new bakery in town, the While Away Bakery and Café, announces a baking contest for children, Mimi is excited to compete and show off her talents. Things get complicated, however, when Mimi's father falls under an enchantment that causes him to not only lose his refined sense of taste, but also eat everything in sight. Loosely based on A Midsummer Night's Dream and inspired by TV shows like The Great British Baking Show, LaRocca's debut is original and compelling. The realistic characters and complex family dynamics augment the tightly knit plot, and the mouthwatering descriptions of food are guaranteed to make readers hungry. Three recipes at the end of the novel (based on the characters' concoctions) are an added bonus for those interested in developing their culinary skills.

A delectable treat for food and literary connoisseurs alike. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

What a wonderful, intriguing, and magical book. And wow, did it ever get my tastebuds going! Each time I picked it up, I felt the urge to head to my kitchen. . . . What I loved most was the smartness of it. It never once doubted its young readers.

Newbery Honor- and National Book Award-Nominated a Kathi Appelt

Narrator Ariana Delawari’s childlike pitch and pacing perfectly capture the magical realism of this delicious spin on Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Eleven-year-old Mimi wants to win the baking contest being held by the interesting new bakery in town. While seeking inspiration in the woods, she meets a boy from India who shows her edible flowers and herbs, which she incorporates into her recipes—with bizarre effects on her family. Delawari gives distinct voices to Mimi’s older siblings and slight accents to the anachronistic bakery staff. Bird songs in the forest heighten the mood of otherworldly wonder. Delawari portrays Mimi as a realistic, relatable heroine amid the magical mayhem. Listeners will sympathize with Mimi's struggles and will be cheering for her to win the baking competition. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

JULY 2019 - AudioFile