Luca lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with his mother and grandmother, Nonna. His father left for Italy to run a bed and breakfast. He writes infrequently but isn’t there for Luca. Luca doesn’t really like school and gets in trouble since he’s a class clown, but he has a couple of great friends who help keep him on track. Luca plans to take over a family cafe, which is being run by an aunt and uncle, but it’s not doing well, and they threaten to close it. When Nonna starts acting erratically and having memory issues, Luca feels like things are falling apart. He plans to enter a recipe contest to be able to save the cafe, but can he do it? Will it be enough?
Lindsay Littleson has written an affecting story that will be relatable to many middle-grade readers as they deal with broken homes and aging grandparents. The characters are well-rounded and believable. The setting should be interesting to readers, especially the differences in schools from there to here, however, Littleson peppers the dialogue with Scottish colloquialisms, which will baffle American readers and keep them from easily enjoying the story. Less dialect would be helpful.