Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake by Julie Sternberg (review)

Now in fourth grade, Eleanor (from Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, BCCB 3/11, and Like Bug Juice on a Burger, 3/13) finds herself out of her comfort zone again. This time it’s at school, where a new girl, Ainsley, seems to be taking Eleanor’s place with Eleanor’s long-term best friend, Pearl; additionally, Eleanor, the stage-averse, has been cast as a lead rabbit, complete with a song, in the class production of A Tale of Two Bunnies. The more Eleanor tries to fix things, the worse they seem to get, especially when she blurts out Ainsley’s secret crush to a taunting crowd. Sternberg again displays her talent at putting Eleanor on the horns of a common youthful dilemma in accessible prose, while her perceptive portrayal of the way a misstep can turn into a downward spiral (an already jealous Eleanor, for instance, disproportionately flips out when Ainsley passes on Pearl’s harmless joke about Eleanor’s dad) conveys a lifelong truth about the ways relationships start to deteriorate. There’s also some keen acknowledgment of the way other factors—Eleanor’s yearning for her beloved dog, who’s away at obedience training, and her nascent crush on a classmate—can heighten a central emotional quandary. Eleanor has a good heart and good counsel, fortunately, so she manages to repair her damaged friendship as well as overcome her theatrical fears; even kids who share Eleanor’s stage fright will see the former as the real victory here.