The Stars of Summer: An All Four Stars Book

The Stars of Summer: An All Four Stars Book

“A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen,  New York Times  bestselling author of  The False Prince for  All Four Stars In this charming sequel to All Four Stars , eleven-year-old foodie Gladys Gatsby now has her first published review under her belt and is looking forward to a quiet summer of cooking and reviewing. But her plans quickly go awry when her friend Charissa Bentley delivers Gladys’s birthday gift: a free summer at Camp Bentley. As Gladys feared, camp life is not easy: she struggles to pass her swim test and can’t keep the other campers happy while planning lunches. The worst part is she can’t seem to get away from the annoying new “celebrity” camper and sneak away for her latest assignment—finding the best hot dog in New York City. But when it turns out her hot dog assignment was a dirty trick by a jealous reviewer, Gladys’s reviewing career may be over forever. Gr 4–6—The young gourmand and secret food critic for the New York Standard is back. Summer has arrived and it's Gladys's 12th birthday. As a birthday gift, Gladys's rich, snobbish friend Charissa offers her a position as a counselor-in-training (CIT) at the exclusive day camp run by her parents. At the camp, Gladys is assigned to work in the kitchen, which would have been wonderful except that she and the cook have opposing ideas about what makes a good lunch—with hilarious results. The camp also has a celebrity CIT, 12-year-old best-selling author Hamilton Herbertson. He's just a loud-mouthed know-it-all to Gladys, although a cute one, until he begins to let her see another side of him. There's also a very strange assignment for the Standard from Gladys' editor who has just gone on an extended vacation and can't be reached. Gladys's job is to find the best hot dog in the five boroughs. Could a jealous rival restaurant critic have something to do with this? Though a sequel to All Four Stars (2014), this book stands on its own. The main characters are maturing and becoming multidimensional. The author delivers the subtle message that people are not always what they seem at first. VERDICT Give this one to foodies as well as readers looking for a fun summer tale.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC "Give this one to foodies as well as readers looking for a fun summer tale."-- School Library Journal "Readers themselves are trying to navigate the world between being a kid and becoming an adult, making this all very relatable. The story has a solid ending, but invites you to think of what things Gladys might do next. The book is a sequel to All Four Stars, but definitely stands alone." --Children's Literature  "A quest for an outstanding hot dog that blossoms into a family bonding experience, the real sense of understanding felt between old and new friends, plus plenty of humorous mishaps along the way should appeal to younger middle school students looking for a quick read during summer break."-- VOYA    Tara Dairman (taradairman.com) is the author of  ALL FOUR STARS , as well as a playwright and recovering world traveler. She grew up in New York and received a B.A. in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. After surviving the world's longest honeymoon (two years, seventy-four countries!), she now lives with her husband in Colorado. Follow her on Twitter: @taradairman Chapter 1 GLADYS GATSBY’S TWELFTH BIRTHDAY should have been her happiest one yet. She was at a fabulous new restaurant in Manhattan on an outing she’d been planning for weeks. Back at home, a three-tiered, strawberry-lime birthday cake (which, of course, Gladys had baked herself) was waiting to be eaten. And best of all, Gladys’s parents had allowed her to invite her friends along for the festivities. A year ago, Gladys hadn’t had any friends to invite to a birthday party—but now she had three, and they were all here at Fusión Tapas with her. Too bad they weren't speaking to one another. Gladys glanced around the table. Parm Singh’s thick black eyebrows knit into an angry scrunch as she scowled alternately at Charissa Bentley and Sandy Anderson. Next to her, Charissa was flicking her high brown ponytail over her shoulder about ten times a minute, shooting sneers in Sandy’s or Parm’s direction each time. And Sandy—whose round cheeks were flushed almost as red as the bottle of spicy sauce in the middle of the table—had scooted his chair so far away from both girls that he was now practically sitting in Gladys’s dad’s lap. All this bitterness, and they hadn’t even gotten their food yet! The evening had started off much more smoothly, with the Gatsbys piling into their station wagon to drive into the city. “Hey, I don’t remember agreeing to throw a party like this,” Gladys’s dad had joked as he turned the key in the ignition. “Gladdy, I knew that hanging around with that Bentley girl was going to give you big ideas.” Gladys smiled. It was true that she’d gotten the idea to spend her birthday at a restaurant in the city from Charissa,