Book Review of How To Almost Win a Gingerbread Contest
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The Children’s Book Review
Written by Karen Kent
Ages: 8+ | 252 Pages
Publisher: Self-Published (2024) | ISBN: 97989910311-03
What to Expect: Friendship, anxiety, baking, competitiveness, and magic.
How To Almost Win a Gingerbread Contest is a cozy, comforting middle-grade novel, perfect for winter reading.
“If you’ve got a list, you’ve got a plan” (p. 5). There’s a lot that worries sixth-grader Angie, but at the top of the list is the fact that her best friend, Arie, has deserted her to hang out with other, cooler kids. However, she has both a list and a plan—she will win her friend back by baking the most amazing Gingerbread Town the town gingerbread competition has ever seen, which requires a LOT of ingredients. However, baking a town is not as easy as it sounds, and it looks like Angie’s plans will let her down … until Hazel the Sugar Sprite arrives. Hazel, a magical being, is determined to help—but having a Sprite as a friend brings its problems!
Told from the first-person perspective of middle-grader Angie, the story centers on familiar middle-grade worries about friendship, identity, and belonging—but with a magical twist. Angie herself struggles with both shyness and anxiety but comes to terms with both as the story progresses, offering a relatable role model for other readers battling these issues as they transition to middle school. The text is lively, filled with both humorous, magical incidents and delightful descriptions of baking that you can practically taste. Oh—and the bad guy is a BRUSSELS SPROUT MONSTER!
What more could you want from a Christmas story?
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About the Author
Karen Kent writes middle grade novels, short stories, and picture books. She has a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing from the University of Washington and calls the Puget Sound region home, where she lives with her family, two dogs, and a cat.
For more information, visit www.karenkentbooks.com.
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