  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 05/01/2016 Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Fizzy has endured a fair amount of change in her life since her parents' divorce. After moving to a new town, she realizes that she has no friends, does not wear the right clothes, doesn't bring the right type of lunch, and doesn't live in the right type of house. Fizzy's chronically late to school, thanks mostly to her mother's tendency to "run late." She hates math and gym, and the teachers of both those classes seem to hate her. Fizzy feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere—not at school, not at home with her mom, not with her mom's new boyfriend, and not at her father's home, where her new stepmother makes everything seem perfect. She feels like a leftover and wonders if winning the Southern Living cook-off might make her parents appreciate her. Though her parents try hard to remain civil with each other and involved in her life, they are each caught up in starting anew, leaving Fizzy feeling adrift. Luckily, she has her cooking, her Aunt Liz to keep her spirits up, and two new friends, Miyoko and Zach, who seem to understand her and appreciate her humor. Fizzy's first-person narration is by turns hilarious and poignant as she struggles to find her voice. - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2016 After her parents’ divorce, eighth-grader Fizzy moves to a new school where nobody’s group seems to need a new, slightly shabby friend. There’s a near-perfect stepmother in her father’s house and her mother has a fastidious new boyfriend who makes Fizzy feel like a guest in her own home, so she feels like a leftover in both her parents’ lives. Determined to earn back her pride of place in her families, she enters the Southern Living Cook-Off and tries her best to be perfect when her mother remarries and her father and stepmom have a baby. While the new friends she meets in the process help keep her grounded, Fizzy bears the extra burden of the Southern manners her mom has drilled into her, which she feels prohibit her from burdening adults with her problems. Her aunt and her school counselor break through some of that; in fact, the adults in this novel, while flawed, are ultimately forgivable, especially as they admit that they need to be forgiven. The leftovers metaphor is cleverly worked throughout, as Fizzy relates her knowledge of cooking into an accessible way of thinking about her life, including how some things taste better the next day, while others find new life in new combinations. With some really solid emotional insights and an energetic, engaging style, this will enlighten middle-school readers trying to sort through the complexities of family situations they didn’t ask for but need grace to deal with nonetheless. KC - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Booklist - 07/01/2016 “Just the word families made me sick with longing.” This hauntingly accurate portrayal of a young girl’s turmoil after her parents’ divorce introduces Fizzy Russo, an excellent cook who knows all about leftovers. Fizzy, you see, believes she’s the “leftovers” from her parents’ marriage, and as they begin new families and new relationships, Fizzy feels frazzled, alone, and aching for the past. As she also tackles a new school and new friends, Fizzy’s feelings heat up and begin to boil over, and she latches onto the one thing she feels she’s good at and that makes people happy, cooking. Winning the Southern Living Cook-off, she believes, is the answer to solving all the loneliness brought on by her mother’s fiancé and her father’s new baby. Payne’s characters give such interesting perspectives from “leftover kids” that it may inspire some readers to reinspect their own relationships. The plot and characters are bluntly realistic, and Fizzy’s story should resonate with those looking for their place in a newly blended family. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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