Praise for So B. It:



* “This is lovely writing--real, touching, and pared cleanly down to the essentials.” – Booklist, starred review



* “Refreshing, offbeat characters…readers will be genuinely touched and surprised.” – VOYA, starred review



“A remarkable novel. [Heidi's] cross-country journey is brave and daring and yields surprising results.” - The New York Times Book Review



“The search for home and history is one that readers will find compelling.” – Kirkus Reviews

What do you get when you take some scrumptious pie recipes, stir in a mix-up of a mystery involving an overweight cat and a legacy, then add a sly satirical nod to the Newbery Medal? This irresistible confection.

In 1955, 10-year-old Alice's beloved Aunt Polly, the peerless "Pie Queen of Ipswitch," who has always given away the extraordinary products of her oven simply because it makes her happy, dies. She bequeaths her incomparable piecrust recipe to Lardo, her cat—or does she?—and leaves Lardo to Alice. Thus the stage is set for a rich, layered and funny tale about friendship, family relationships and doing what's right. The characters are wonderfully drawn. While doing her best to carry on Aunt Polly's legacy, trying to figure out how to wrest the secret from the cat, dealing with a nefarious woman poking around town and learning about the renowned "Blueberry Medal," which everyone in town is trying to win, Alice draws closer to her mom, a resolution Aunt Polly would have cherished. Alice and her family eventually discover the solution to the mystery in a plot twist that is both comical and plausible. An epilogue, set in 1995, is deeply poignant and gratifying. In addition to the beautifully wrought story, readers will savor and want to attempt the 14 recipes, each of which precedes a chapter.

Warm, delicious and filling. (recipes, pie credits)(Historical fiction. 9-12)