LitPick Review
Stella Madison is the daughter of a famous chef and the owner of Open Kitchen, a restaurant that features local chefs. Though her parents have been separated for six years, they remain exceedingly close, which makes Stella's life all the more sweeter. When the local newspaper offers here a job as an summer intern (with the help of her parents reputation of course), Stella finds it hard to resist the pay. There's just one little problem: Stella must write about food and she is not a foodie. Her idea of a savory meal would be McDonald's-not Normandy style onion soup. Thankfully, Jeremy, the cute new intern at the Open Kitchen, is more than happy to help Stella with her assignments. When Stella's feelings for Jeremy grow, what will Stella do about her boyfriend, Max, who just dropped the " I love you" bomb? And if things aren't disastrous enough, Stella has sensed some odd behavior with both her parents. Could they possibly be cooking up a romance of their own? Will life ever be sweet again? The Sweet Life of Stella Madison is a savory novel about what love truly means.
Opinion:
The Sweet Life of Stella Madison was quite an entertaining story. Though I wouldn't say I enjoyed it 100% or that I liked Stella's boy-crazy character very much, the book still brought a great message for teen girls: it's okay to be friends with guys. Or in other words, you don't have to make every guy your boyfriend because technically, crushes don't last. With the help of Jeremy, Stella learns what love really means and that with maturity, comes love. Not only did these lessons about love weave around Stella, but her parents as well, giving the story an even greater depth. Characters from Zeises's Anyone But You, are also mentioned in this book, which I thought was neat little detail. Overall, I think many teenagers would enjoy and relate to The Sweet Life of Stella Madison.
