Review Detail

Rachel's father has moved out. She is determined to go to Florida and try to get her parents back together. After she 'takes' from her college fund to pay for the airline ticket, she helps her mother at her cleaning job, hoping to earn enough money to put back in her account before her mother finds out. She's surprised to find out that her mother's clients include Queen Bee Briana and her best friend Caitlin. Both of these popular girls love to make Rachel's life miserable. Mortified at being the daughter of a 'cleaning' lady, she adds to her baking diary some juicy secrets she finds about her classmates while cleaning their rooms. Some of these secrets would be disastrous if she tells. In the meantime, she needs to make a dessert which will also help her win enough money. Then Steve, her crush, asks her if she can spy on his girlfriend Briana. Now Rachel learns that maybe her eighth-grade classmates dirty laundry might come in handy if she's willing to spill some of their juicy secrets.

This is a very adorable romp through the life of Rachel, who is mortified at her classmates finding out about her mother's cleaning business. I agree with the authors comment that eighth grade is one humongous humiliation-fest. I know it was with me! So much drama and if you weren't in the 'in crowd' then you felt as if life ended. So Rachel's insecurity and shyness rang very true for me.

Another thing I loved about Rachel is she's not 'perfect' but rather deals with being insecure about herself, is tongue tied around the cute guy, and even entertains visions of revenge. Just like any other teen her age. The twists on swearing is kind of cute too.

Rachel's longing to get her family back together and having a hard time accepting the fact that her mother is interested in her principal is another thing that I know some can relate with. Add to that the snide comments and cruel pranks that follow her after Briana tells everyone about her cleaning job.

I loved the voice of this book. It's adorable but not overly sweet. Rachel's friend Marisol's quirkiness adds to the charm. Plus Rachel's love of baking is a great way to show how she channels her frustrations into something tasty. Those coconut brownies sound very nommy!

This is the perfect light tale with an adorable heroine that cooks up her own way through eighth grade with a tasty twist.