Good reviews for The Teashop Girls!

Kirkus, November 15th issue:
Nurtured in her grandmother Louisa’s teashop, The Steeping Leaf, Annie and best friends Zoe and Genna have been the “teashop girls” since kindergarten. As eighth grade rolls to a close, Annie laments the new directions Zoe and Genna are moving in, even as Annie’s love for everything connected with the shop remains steadfast, bolstered by her new job as barista. When competition from the coffee chain across the street places the business in financial jeopardy, Annie makes it her mission to save the shop’s unique and historic place in the community. Schaefer’s first tween novel is filled with down-to-earth good values, conflict, budding romantic yearnings and some wonderful side notes on the benefits of tea, its history and global uses. Annie’s distinct relationship with her grandmother parallels her equally special connection with her peers as she faces change and maturity. The drama of keeping The Steeping Leaf open will keep sprouting teens hopeful. Despite a convenient ending, a satisfying story. (Fiction. 8-12)
 
Booklist, December 1st issue:
As children, Annie, Zoe, and Genna hung out at Annie’s grandmother’s teashop and called themselves the Teashop Girls. Now nearing the end of middle school, they’re still best friends, but Annie works at the shop while her friends are involved other activities. Annie rallies Zoe and Genna to help when she learns that the teashop may have to close. Their creative marketing ploys sometimes flop, but their efforts pay off in unexpected ways. At the heart of this first-person narrative is Annie’s fear of change and her reluctant realization of childhood’s end as she sees high school on the horizon. Her hopes of romance with an older coworker are dashed in a realistic way, but her firm base of friends and family provides equally realistic grounding for this sympathetic character. Tea lovers will enjoy the scrapbook entries of tea history, lore, advertisements, and recipes as well as the quotes that appear at the beginning of each chapter. Like good tea: comforting, refreshing, and sustaining.

Kidliterate, Oct: 15

Thank you to all the enthusiastic readers!

LJS