“ One Hundred Spaghetti Strings is one hundred percent satisfying. A perfectly blended concoction.” —Julie Sternberg, acclaimed author of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie This brave and heartwarming middle grade novel will leave your belly rumbling and your heart full. Because when life hands you lemons, it’s time to get cooking! Perfect for fans of Sarah Weeks, Leslie Connor, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Since Steffy was little, she and her older sister, Nina, have lived with their beloved Auntie Gina. But when the girls’ dad comes home to live with them, everything changes. So Steffy does what she does best: She cooks her way through the hardest year of her life. Sometimes it feels like everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown at her—too many ingredients that don't quite work. And all Steffy wants is for her family to be whole again. Can her recipes help bring them back together? One Hundred Spaghetti Strings also includes over twenty recipes—which Steffy cooks throughout the book—so aspiring young chefs can try them out when they’re done reading! Gr 4–6—The start of fifth grade marks the beginning of big changes for Stephanie Sandolini. Beyond new clothes (hello, training bra), routines, and classes, the biggest change of all is that her aunt Gina is moving out and her dad is moving back from California to care for her and her older sister Nina. Steffy doesn't know what to think about her father's return, so she does what she knows best: she cooks. Along the way, she comes up with a plan to prepare favorite recipes for her mom, who lives in a nursing facility after an accident caused a traumatic brain injury. Steffy enters a community contest called Chefs of Tomorrow. Nails gets the middle school voice just right in this gentle novel that touches on some important issues. The cooking framework that anchors much of the book makes for short chapters that have a lot of impact and effectively drive the action forward. The recipes mentioned in the narrative are included in an afterword, so readers can create some of Steffy's dishes for a more interactive experience. VERDICT Recommended for upper elementary and middle school library collections, this novel will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction with strong female protagonists.—Kelly Kingrey-Edwards, Blinn Junior College, Brenham, TX “Poignant and full of life and heartache … and wishing and dreaming … and pain and exuberance. Steffy’s voice is honest and clear, young and yet deeply tuned in; she is a real girl, right here and now, a girl readers will want to befriend.” - Amy Hest, New York Times bestselling author of Kiss Good Night “To read One Hundred Spaghetti Strings is to laugh, sometimes cry, and always root for this middle school cook as she rewrites the recipe for family. It’s a fun, funny, smart, sometimes sad, so-true, can’t-put-it-down story about the power of love, forgiveness and hope in cooking...and in life.” - Cathleen Davitt Bell, acclaimed author of LITTLE BLOG ON THE PRAIRIE “Steffy made me want to cook a big bowl of pasta and sit down for dinner with my loved ones.” - Suzanne LaFleur, author of Love, Aubrey and Eight Keys “One Hundred Spaghetti Strings is one hundred percent satisfying. I’ve just turned the last page, and I want to start right over. I love how Steffy tells the tale of her imperfect family members and all her efforts to turn them into a perfectly blended concoction. Her relatives might be unmanageable, but they’re the ideal ingredients for a good story.” - Julie Sternberg, author of the bestselling novel Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie “Steffy’s growing understanding of what makes a family and journey to find her voice through food are powerful, and her story is rich with fodder for discussion.” - Publishers Weekly “Nails serves up a platter of tender, poignant goodies.” - Kirkus Reviews “ One Hundred Spaghetti Strings is one hundred percent satisfying. I love how Steffy tells the tale of her imperfect family members and all her efforts to turn them into a perfectly blended concoction. Her relatives might be unmanageable, but they’re the ideal ingredients for a good story.” - Julie Sternberg, author of the bestselling novel Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie