The Secret Ingredient (Paula Wiseman Books)

The Secret Ingredient (Paula Wiseman Books)

Annie juggles sabotage and summer romance in this refreshing follow-up to The Teashop Girls that includes recipes for tea-related treats! It’s the summer before ninth grade, and Annie has been working hard at the Steeping Leaf, which has been busier than ever. And Annie’s involved in a huge scone cook-off with one of Louisa’s tea suppliers that could mean an all-expenses paid trip to London! But competition is tough, and Annie suspects sabotage when some mean comments show up on her blog. Then there’s the whole matter of a stolen kiss with Zach Anderson in the Steeping Leaf stockroom…. With the help of her two best friends, Genna and Zoe, can Annie come up with an awesome contest entry and sort out her love life before the end of the summer? To sweeten the brew, Laura Schaefer has also included recipes for tea and tea-related treats along with lists and amusing quotes—the perfect accents to a great girl read! ."..the rich descriptions of delicious treats and tea, along with the message about locally sourced ingredients, will draw young foodies. Recipes and blog posts punctuate this squeaky-clean read."--"BOOKLIST" "a cozy story steeped in tea history, memorabilia, and recipes layered with bits of archival advertising and tea quotes." -"School Library Journal" "some wise lessons about life, love, friendship and honest achievement.""- KIRKUS REVIEWS " Laura Schaefer is the author of The Teashop Girls , The Secret Ingredient , and Littler Women . She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and daughter. When she’s not writing middle grade novels, you might find her scoping out local coffee shops, taking long walks with only partially working headphones, and poking around the library for treasures. Laura’s favorite Little Women character is Jo (whose isn’t?), but she confesses to a strong fondness for Amy as well. Visit her online at LauraSchaeferWriter.com or follow her on Twitter at @TeaShopGirl. Sujean Rim is the author and illustrator of My Dog Smudge , You Are Loved , Take a Breath , Take a Chance , Birdie’s Big-Girl Shoes , Birdie’s Big-Girl Dress , Birdie’s Big-Girl Hair , Zoogie Boogie Fever! , Chee-Kee: A Panda in Bearland , and more. She has illustrated for clients including Tiffany & Co., Target, and the website DailyCandy . Sujean lives in New York with her favorite artist and husband Bob, and their son, Charlie. Find her online at SujeanRim.com. Chapter One We live in stirring times—tea-stirring times. —CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD The pumpkin bar with cream cheese frosting from Murphy Farms is the pinnacle of bakery perfection. After a swallow of peach iced tea from my light green water bottle, I grinned at Zoe and took a giant bite. There were exactly six glorious weeks of summer left to enjoy, and the Madison Farmer’s Market on the capitol square was packed with market goers, flowers, veggies, fruit, and signs. We were right in the middle of it all. I gobbled up my bar and tucked into a container of delectable cottage cheese next. After that, a bag of strawberries awaited. I planned to eat every last one of them before my brothers—or worse, Zach Anderson—tracked us down. “But how do you even know he’s down here?” Zoe was asking me. “Wouldn’t he rather run through a mud puddle after a Frisbee than look for fresh herbs?” “Yes,” I said. “But he’s been bugging me all week at the Leaf, and I accidentally told him I was coming here today. It’s like he is incapable of leaving me alone for two hours.” Zoe giggled. “Aw, that’s kind of sweet.” “No, it isn’t! The worst part is, the customers think he’s an actual Leaf employee! So if he says something ridiculous, it makes the shop look bad.” Zoe opened her mouth to reply, but then spotted some truly gorgeous tomatoes. They were just coming into season, and their ruby red color was definitely turning everyone’s heads. “Ooh, I’m going to get some of these.” We carefully chose three of the best-looking ones and put them in Zoe’s canvas bag. Just then, the crowd cleared up a little and we heard a piercing shriek. A very familiar piercing shriek. “Heeeeeeeeeeeey!” “Genna!” Zoe and I both yelled. We turned around and there she was, arms outstretched in a show-stopping pose. We raced over to give her a hug and practically knocked over a toddler who tried to get between us. “Aughhhhh!” we screamed. “You’re home a day early!” I cried. I couldn’t believe it. We weren’t expecting her until tomorrow. “I know! I got an earlier flight. I went right to the Steeping Leaf, and Louisa said you were down here,” she said from behind ginormous white sunglasses. A few people grumbled as they tried to get around Gen, who had her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face. “I can’t believe you found us so easily,” I said. “I just looked for your hair, Annie!” We giggled. It was so humid, my curly red hair was taking up more space than a small stroller. I saw a college girl trying to sample some cheese shoot us a glare. “I think we’re kind o