The Wedding Planner's Daughter (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #1)
Grade 4-6–This book is as sweet a confection as the cherry cordials its 12-year-old protagonist is so fond of eating. Willafred Havisham is starting to put down roots in Bramble, Cape Cod, where her grandmother runs a candy shop and where she's made a friend. She is hoping that her mother will stay here longer than the two years they usually live anywhere, and that she will remarry. Stella is a successful wedding planner who is unaware that her daughter has been adding her own touch for years: she sews cherry pits into the hem of the gowns for good luck. When a celebrity wedding goes awry because of this, Stella feels her business is ruined and the two leave town. The girl's letter to her mother about the meaning of the pits (they represent love) provides emotional heft to what has up to that point been just a pleasant story. Chapters begin with a quote from a book or, less successfully, from a character in this novel. These allusions may prompt readers to look into some of Willa's favorite books and writers.–Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.