For the longest time, I left Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch on my to-read shelf like an ice cream cone in the summer sun. It was too frilly, I reasoned. Too generic. Next to the plethora of suspenseful dystopian and fantasy novels I had yet to read, Love & Gelato didn’t seem like it would be worth my time. But that’s when my friends began to pelt me with book recommendations, a primary one being this book. I was skeptical, but curious. Would it really live up to the hype? In the end, I decided to borrow the novel from my local library just for laughs. Boy, oh boy. Maybe my pediatrician wasn’t ever going to recommend I eat gelato left and right, but this book was exactly what the doctor ordered. In Love & Gelato, the stage is set in Tuscany, Italy, where seventeen-year-old Lina Emerson is on a visit. Under different circumstances, Lina would immediately fall in love with Italy’s shimmering waters, quaint villages, and captivating artwork, but she’s only there to satisfy her mother’s dying wish for her to meet her long-lost father, Howard. Even though Howard tries to make Lina feel comfortable, Lina simply can’t accept him back into her life so quickly. After all, if he really cared, he would have contacted her earlier. Does he really think he can enter the picture sixteen years later without any hard feelings? Then Lina is given the journal her mother kept when she lived in Italy years ago. Suddenly, Lina is reading about bakeries, artwork, and secrets that she’s never known about before. In fact, the diary starts out with the cryptic message, I made the wrong choice, which leaves Lina to ponder: What was this bad decision? Curious for answers, Lina decides to go from city to city with her charming new friend, Ren. At the same time, she deals with family drama and troubles of the heart. The highlights of Italy may be love and gelato, but there is much more to this country than meets the eye. If nothing else, Love & Gelato is incredibly delightful to read! It has just the right balance of character development, suspense, romance, and humor. Lina is a sarcastic, food-loving narrator who sometimes makes rash decisions, but is really just trying to navigate the volatile waters of adolescence: friendship, family, and relationships, just to name a few. The descriptions of Italy are a cinematic experience—the view of Florence is detailed as “a sea of red rooftops under an unblemished blue sky and soft green hills circling everything like a big, happy hug.” I mean, come on; if that doesn’t give you warm fuzzies, I don’t know what will. And don’t even get me started on the food. After this, I’m getting the milk and cream out to make my very own stracciatella gelato! The plot only complements the adorable writing style. The premise of Love & Gelato is very unique and interesting, and it’s highly enjoyable getting to read Lina’s mother’s diary entries and to see Italy from a different point of view. Though the story is mostly predictable, there are some minor twists I didn’t expect. This is one of those books that I don’t mind being predictable, just because it is so fun to read. After reading so many hard-hitting books that often left me feeling pessimistic and despondent, Jenna Evans Welch’s bestselling debut novel gave me the truckful of sweetness I needed, all served with a tangy side of mystery. If you are looking for your next lighthearted summer read, your search is over—Love & Gelato will not disappoint! Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
The Roots of Our Peace, by Meleah Goldman, 10
Meleah Goldman, 10 (Oakland, CA) The Roots of Our Peace Meleah Goldman, 10 When I think of peace, I look to nature. I have spent so much time during this pandemic looking outside of my large, clear window. In the background, I can hear the worldwide marches of Black Lives Matter on my television. While our fellow humans are fighting for basic peace, my window shows me endless examples of how different parts of nature work together, each tiny gear depending on peace and cooperation within their differences. Peace is the blueness of the sky being different from the purple of the flowers and the green of the sea, yet they all work together. Peace is accepting the rich history and memories inside the roots of the many different trees. Like humans, they long to break through the heavy sameness of the concrete that coats the streets of every town and city. Peace is not walking the streets of earth, worrying if you are safe because of your roots or the color of your skin. No. Peace is finally breaking up the concrete, releasing the long-covered wild roots and allowing them to color our world. Why should nature be better at creating equality and peace than our own human race? Our sun beats down its warmth freely and equally; it leaves no one in the shadows. So why should anyone shine their rays of discrimination on the faces of our beautiful human race? Peace is not found in a shattered mirror; a dangerous, broken glass, holding only reflections of people who look and act the same. No. Peace is an infinite sky, where the possibilities are limitless. Peace is you and me, together in our humanness, celebrating the power of our garden of roots.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, reviewed by Pragnya, 12
Sherlock Holmes is one of the world’s most famous fictional detectives. He, along with his accomplice Dr. John Watson, solves mysteries and cracks incredibly intricate cases. In The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, however, Holmes finally meets his match in 15-year-old egotistical Mary Russell in this story of mystery. The novel is an enticing adventure about looking behind the obvious to see what lies behind the seemingly coincidental whodunit. Set in 1915, in Britain, Mary has her nose in a book while accidentally stumbling upon Sherlock Holmes, who, tired of the constant adventure in London, had decided to take up raising bees in a quiet Sussex estate. Over time, Holmes and Mary start to grow closer, creating a mentor-tutor bond between the unexpected duo. Russell, intellectual as much as she was gawky, had been accepted to Oxford in the year of 1917, fresh from Holmes’ lessons. In 1918, the American senator’s daughter Jessica Simpson had been kidnapped and there was no one better to call on the case than Holmes, who takes Mary on her first international case. However, while rescuing her, they start to realize this plot ran much deeper than they thought. They start to follow a mystery that takes them across the world, across cryptic codes for them to uncover a tale intertwined in the middle of forbidden fate. The setting is rich and vivid, filled with lots of details about life in the early 1900s. Every scene is packed with action, either emotionally or physically. I especially enjoyed the point of view and the distinct personalities of the characters, Mary’s especially strong personality resonating with me and many other coming-of-age adolescents, not to mention being especially empowering for young girls such as myself. Being a mystery genre aficionado, I went into this expecting to find many hints and this book failed to disappoint. The foreshadowing towards the end of the adventure was expertly done, with little clues being dropped in the most unexpected of places. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. With its witty conversations and monologue, engaging prose, and relatable characters, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice will leave you hanging tight on to the edge of your cover until the very last reveal. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King. Picador USA, 2014. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
