Midsummer's Mayhem

Midsummer's Mayhem is absolutely delectable and a brilliant read for chapter book lovers. A modern-day book inspired loosely by A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, the book is about 11-year-old Mimi Mackson and her big Indian American family. Mimi loves to cook and she is great at it, much like her idol, culinary celeb Puffy Fay. Mimi is drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song and Mimi meets Vik, who takes her to parts of Massachusetts she never knew existed.  Being a mum to an eleven-year-old and aunt to a teen, my YA-spotting abilities are now at full witness and this is exactly what they love! Rajani LaRocca gets under the skin of adolescents and teens. She speaks their language and pulls them into a world of 21st century enchantments, inspired by Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare and this is a wonderful way to bring Shakespeare into the mix. It also crosses so many genres - there is writing about food, relationships, and high fantasy. It has poetry, teenage drama and is deliciously current and trendy.  We loved reading about the food. More than anything, we loved Rajani's admixture of teenage diction and poetic expressions.  Truly a fabulous read!