Hot Lunch (review)

It all starts when Molly is partnered with perky Cassie for a writing assignment; Molly, a sardonic outsider, resists the teaming but can't resist needling Cassie, and the discord escalates into a lunchroom food fight. When the ex-hippie principal of their crunchy-granola private school assigns the girls to work together in the cafeteria, their continued hostilities drive away the head of the cafeteria, Mrs. Zetz, and most of her staff; the principal then solves the situation by putting Molly and Cassie in charge of the cafeteria until such time as the students deem their food better than Mrs. Zetz's. Narrator Molly is a creature seen often in life but rarely in books, the smug and judgmental outsider who's convinced that her disaffection proves her superiority; while the book makes the case that her meanness covers up insecurity, it's also clear she simply finds it enjoyable, and readers will likely take a certain pleasure in her unfettered snarkiness. There's a survival-story element of appeal to watching the girls attempt to keep themselves afloat in the kitchen, and several secondary characters, such as nerdy but endearing Clyde, who turns out to be a whiz at making desserts, are savory additions. Unfortunately, the plot is overcomplicated, with an in-house saboteur and a final head-to-head with Mrs. Zetz, as well as contrived not only in its initial set-up but also in the girls' eventual championing of good nutrition as a cafeteria cause, and Molly is less amusing when she predictably softens up. The premise is still an appetizing one, however, and many readers will look down at their dubious lunch trays and think that they too could do better.