When twelve year-old Kelly is cleaning her family's attic, she comes across a cookbook of strange recipes hidden in an old encyclopedia. The recipes have ingredients she's never heard of and promise to do things like keep people from talking. Kelly loves cooking anyway, so she enlists her best friends, Darbie and Hannah, to try out the recipes. And there happens to be one store in town that sells the odd ingredients. ( )

A lightweight story of three girls who discover a book of magic recipes in the attic. They realise they have the power to curse people or charm people - but the Law Of Returns will exact its price!

(This book is very much setting up for the sequel, where a lot of the plot is resolved, so there is a longer review of both halves under that.) ( )

Three girls find a magic cookbook in the attic and start trying out recipes, only to discover that the Rule of Returns applies in a big way.
This is a case of the (Amazon) show being much better than the book, I'm afraid, and the show is quite a bit different, too. The girls in the book are borderline mean and only feel repentant, it seems, because they suffer consequences and not because they actually feel bad about any hurt they've caused. Plus, neither magic nor the backstory for the cookbook itself is nearly as interesting here. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

While cleaning out the attic, Kelly Quinn discovers an old book. Normally, that might not catch her eye, but when she opens it, she discovers recipes. Kelly adores cooking and she can't wait to try out some new recipes.

Now that she and her two BFFs are starting seventh grade, it could be time to start their very own cooking club. As she reads the recipes, some of the ingredients are unfamiliar to her. She wanders into a store to gather the ingredients. After purchasing the items, the store owner tells her to beware of the laws of return.

Kelly doesn't think much of this warning at first. It isn't until she witnesses the results of their cooking experiments that she become suspicious. Did she make her brother stop talking? Did she hex her frenemy? Did she cause her cranky old neighbor to fall dangerously ill?

Kelly isn't sure if it's the book working its magic or if these incidents are simply coincidences. Either way, the magic is ruining her life. She's forced into helping her frenemy. Her best friends aren't happy with her. Can she reverse all of the spells she's cast through her cooking?

I enjoyed this tween read - a great novel about friendship, karma, and mistakes. I loved the magical elements combined with cooking. I enjoyed Kelly's pesky younger brother, the craziness that ensued due to the spells, the bits with Charlotte, and the friendship between the three girls. ( )