Kitchen Princess: Search for the Angel Cake by Miyuki Kobayashi

Najika is a teenage girl with an extraordinary talent for baking. While catering for a party for a fellow classmate, she discovers her friend's grandmother was a friend of her deceased parents. Najika's parents, before their tragic accident, promised the grandmother that they would recreate a cake that the woman had tasted in her childhood in another country. Now that Najika's parents are gone, she is determined to find the mysterious cake recipe for the old woman. The only problem is she is left with so little clues.

Kitchen Princess: Search for the Angel Cake is a companion novel to the Manga, Kitchen Princess, so therefore if a person has not read the series, it could be quite hard to understand the story plot. The story is also Japanese, so readers must keep in mind the cultural differences that differ between the East and the West. Getting past that, this was a lighthearted, absorbing read that made me want to jump up onto my feet and start baking. In between chapters, there were easy instructional visual directions on how to make desserts that were prepared in the book, including a scrumptious Angel Food Cake that I made myself! This book would be for a younger age group (9-11) and does not have complicated vocabulary, but it kept me thoroughly interested.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake Bluff, Il The United States of America