Tag Archives: Jake Cohen

Gift Guide: Bookish Gifts for Foodies and/or Oenophiles

Picks for Kids

Pasta Girls by Taylor Tracy

Hot-headed and energetic Romea Marino is starting ninth grade with a full plate. Between confusing social dynamics of high school and juggling extracurriculars, Ro can only find peace in the reliable comfort of her kitchen, where she’s able to follow in her dad’s culinary footsteps, whipping up Italian-fusion recipes.

Thoughtful and reserved Julianna Cangelosi is dying to help in her family’s restaurant, which serves traditional Italian dishes. But because Jules suffers from anxiety and struggles with overstimulation, her parents are wary of their daughter being in the chaos of a New York City kitchen.

When Ro and Jules meet on the first night of the San Gennaro Festival, sparks fly…until they learn that their fathers own dueling Italian restaurants across the street from each other. But the more the girls hang out—Ro teaching Jules how to cook; Jules taking Ro to her favorite spots around the city—the more their feelings grow. Can they rewrite the old tale of star-crossed kids from rival families and create a new recipe for love and friendship?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N

Continue reading Gift Guide: Bookish Gifts for Foodies and/or Oenophiles

New Releases: September 30, 2025

Middle Grade

A Little Too Haunted by Justine Pucella Winans

The only thing worse than having ghost hunters for parents is having fake ghost hunters for parents. Luna Catalano would know. Her moms are haunted house flippers who use their home reno skills and pretend psychic powers to turn spooky old houses into ghost-free modern homes. Not only does their job require the family to move all the time–meaning Luna is completely friendless–but the only thing haunting any of those houses is bad decor. For once Luna wishes there was an actual, for-real ghost.

When they move yet again, Luna isn’t expecting much. But this house feels…different. Things start out innocent enough–items not where they should be, strange noises–but soon things turn sinister. Her moms are waking up with cuts and bruises, and disturbing drawings showing them with even worse injuries are being left in Luna’s room. With the help of her next-door neighbors and a mysterious woman who seems to know a lot about the home, Luna starts to piece together what exactly happened in that house before she moved in. But not everything is as it seems. In order to save her moms, Luna will have to get the story right before everything goes completely wrong.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: September 30, 2025