Ready, Set, Dough!

Kentwood Academy sixth grader Zoe, an aspiring journalist, dreams of owning a Horizon WordPro GT laptop. Her parents aren't in a position to buy her an expensive device, however, so she splits her time between the computers at the library and her older brother's friend's house to crank out her column for the school's paper. When Kentwood's Spring fundraiser rolls around--during which students sell cookie dough to help fund their extracurriculars and win prizes--Zoe realizes that one of the fundraising rewards is a WordPro. She persuades her best friend Felix to help her come up with ideas to win the competition, but selling cookie dough isn't easy--especially when the competition, privileged classmate Amaya, has access to her affluent family's connections to drive sales. Zoe becomes laser-focused on achieving her goals, and uses any opportunity to sell cookie dough, even if it means missing family and friends' important milestones or putting herself in potentially dangerous situations. Baptist explores themes of class and wealth disparity through Zoe's stubbornly determined first-person POV, and enriches the narrative with distinct and unforgettably rendered characters. Protagonists are racially diverse. Ages 8-10. (Oct.)

Gr 4-6--The premise of Baptist's latest will be familiar to all middle grade readers. Zoe, a highly motivated Black girl in sixth grade, has set her sights on selling the most cookie dough in her all-school fundraiser. As an aspiring journalist with computer problems, she wants to claim the campus top-seller prize, a laptop computer, and has plenty of competition to keep her busy. Zoe must learn to keep her fiercely competitive personality in check and remember that people and relationships are more important than winning a contest, even though she sees it as beneficial to her family in the long run. Middle grade readers will enjoy Zoe's quick comebacks and witty banter with her best friend, Felix, and her older brother, Mark. Baptist crafts a spunky, focused female character who has tons of drive, great goals, and funny insight. The book ends as expected and exemplifies the mindset that goals are always achievable if one works hard--which may not be completely realistic but makes for a fun read. This title will appeal to readers who enjoy books with confident, empowered female protagonists like Kelly Yang's Front Desk and Janae Marks's From the Desk of Zoe Washington, and also to reluctant readers who enjoy a succinct, tight story. VERDICT A fun, relatable realistic fiction title recommended for all middle grade readers and collections.--Kim Gardner