Girls Dinner Club by Jessie Elliot is a story about three high school girls of very different backgrounds bonding together to uncover the mysteries of love, friendship, and the art of cooking. Elliot successfully creates a relationship between the book’s characters and the reader. It’s an entertaining tale of the recipes of life, however too advanced for the targeted audience, who may not be able to see beyond some of the titillating details. Best friends Junie and Celia welcome classmate Danielle to join them for dinner one evening after working on a school project. The casual meal turns into a weekly tradition where the girls try their hand at lavish, mouth-watering cuisines while developing an unbreakable sisterhood union. Individually, the girls each have problems they are desperately trying to overcome. Junie’s yearlong relationship comes to a screeching halt when she becomes unsure of the direction it is taking, and then she becomes tempted by Danielle’s hunky twenty-one-year-old cousin. Celia’s sheltered world is turned upside-down when her father brings home a new woman and her annoying or wait, maybe her mystifyingly charming nephew. Life hasn’t been easy for Danielle being raised by mom, grandma, and big sis Christine especially when bad boy Steve resurfaces as a "changed man." The lack of parental guidance throughout the novel is evident when the seventeen-year-olds either have no curfew at all, or defy the 11:00 p.m. weeknights and 12:30 a.m. weekends set for them. Together the trio battles decisions of sex, underage drinking, cheating boyfriends, and sneaking around behind their parents' backs. The content is not appropriate for 12 and below. I would not be comfortable with middle school readers being exposed to issues like sex, underage drinking, and defiance of family rules. However, this behavior is perfectly acceptable according to this book.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6

Reviewer Age: 24

Reviewed by: NY