Cookie Monsters

by Erika J. Kendrick

Overview

A fun, fast-paced novel about friendship, family, fighting for what’s right, and standing out from the crowd while standing up for yourself. 
 
Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Ace is ready to take the Valentine World Scouts by storm and build her own cookie empire. She nearly won the top cookie selling spot last year and is determined to make her mom—who recently passed away—proud by coming in first this time around. With her fabulous best friends by her side, Brooklyn knows she’ll become Santa Monica’s District Cookie Queen. The crown is practically in the bag. 
 
Then Piper Parker arrives. 
 
Piper has a rich dad, a fancy hotel, and a drive to steal the cookie crown right off Brooklyn’s head. Before long, most of the seventh grade is under Piper’s spell. But Brooklyn is in it to win the biggest cookie war the school has ever seen. With the help of her cookie squad, her rockstar grandmother, her super cool therapist, and a lot of self-love and inner growth, maybe—just maybe—Brooklyn can end up a winner after all. 

For more adventures at Valentine Middle, don't miss these school stories from Erika J. Kendrick: 
Squad Goals
Instafamous

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316281379
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	84,011
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Erika J. Kendrick is a national speaker, mental health advocate, and former NBA cheerleader. She is a Stanford University graduate with an MBA in marketing and international business from the University of Illinois. She is the author of Squad Goals, her debut middle grade novel, and Cookie Monsters. 

Editorial Reviews

"A tenderhearted novel…concentrating on Brooklyn’s emotional growth, [while] the positive first-person narrative sheds light on the importance of loyal friends, mental health support, and cherishing a loved one’s memory."—Publishers Weekly

"The fast pace and conversational tone that uses up-to-the-minute language will draw readers in. It shines [a spotlight] on mental health and the importance of community. An appealing read, especially for those looking to start a conversation about grief and anxiety."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

11/21/2022

Two seventh graders face off to become a scouting cookie queen in this tenderhearted novel by Kendrick (Squad Goals). Having lost last year’s World Scouts Alliance cookie-selling district title to a now-graduated high schooler, Black middle school student Brooklyn Ace is “in it to win it.” She hopes to take the grand prize and dedicate it to her mother, who died of cancer the year prior. But the arrival of a transfer student, wealthy white Instagram influencer Piper Parker, brings competition to the fore. As Piper edges in on Brooklyn’s established customers, and Brooklyn realizes how much of her success involved her compassionate mother’s way with people, Brooklyn becomes overwhelmed with anxiety and grief as well as uncertainty about her prospects for winning. With the aid of her faithful scout troop members, HoneyBee cheer squad, vivacious therapist, and fashionable grandmother, Betty Jean, Brooklyn works to overcome her obstacles. Concentrating on Brooklyn’s emotional growth, the positive first-person narrative sheds light on the importance of loyal friends, mental health support, and cherishing a loved one’s memory. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marcy Posner, Folio Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-10-11
A 12-year-old girl finds her voice with the help of her community as she competes to sell the most cookies.

Brooklyn Ace, a Black seventh grader at Valentine Middle School, is the reigning cookie queen. This year will be no different despite not having her biggest supporter in her corner to help her reach her goal of selling 5,000 boxes of World Scouts Alliance cookies and winning the Santa Monica district prize. Her biggest obstacle is Piper Parker, a new White student who is already stealing away Brooklyn’s regular customers with fancy tactics—and the help of lots of kids from their school eager to go to the pool party Piper is promising them if she wins. Brooklyn realizes that her mom, whose death she is grieving, did a tremendous amount of the groundwork for Brooklyn’s record-breaking cookie sales. Even with the help of her therapist and supportive, racially diverse scout squad—Lyric, Luciana, and Stella Rose—Brooklyn will need to reexamine her definition of winning as the fierce cookie competition nears its end. Secondary characters’ personalities aren’t clearly delineated, and readers will feel less invested in them. The delivery of the central message can feel heavy-handed, but the fast pace and conversational tone that uses up-to-the-minute language will draw readers in. The book’s strongest quality is the spotlight it shines on mental health and the importance of community.

An appealing read, especially for those looking to start a conversation about grief and anxiety. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews