This was predictable yet entertaining. I enjoyed the prison part of the storyline more than the baking part, the latter feeling like a filler because the former wasn’t enough to flesh out a whole 300 page book.

I liked the positivity here but I think the happily ever after ending came a little too quickly. The character development was great, if only the ending hadn’t been so rushed.

The messages shared within it regarding racism, the BLM movement, inadequacy of the justice system and prison reform where admirable to see in a middle grade book. I think the take on them were a little too simplistic though. Simply saying something isn’t “black and white” (as the grandma states) but then presenting it throughout the book as either black or white is really counterintuitive to the complexity of the matters. I think more exploration was needed to make it seem like this wasn’t a half-committal or a sugar-coated washed-down take tailored for kids, which really doesn’t suit a book that’s brave enough to discuss murder in an intimate way.

All in all, a charming read, especially for a debut novel. Brushing on some interesting topics with a relatively good storyline and characters but maybe a bit too happily ever after to really have a long-lasting impact.