Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace by Nan Marino


“When you’re so busy trying to be what other people think you should be, you’ll never find your own music.”

Cecilia has a problem; she can’t hear the music in the pine forest. This is a problem for her because according to the story her parents tell every year on her birthday, the pines played a special song on the night she was born.  Now that she’s almost 11 she wants to hear the music for herself, but no matter how hard she searches she can’t find the music.  Then one night she inadvertently witnesses the secret arrival of a new resident to her town of Wares Grove, New Jersey.  She soon discovers that the mystery person is a famous pre teen star.  He’s picked her town to hide out in after a very public embarrassment on a reality show.  He’s gone from fame to serving pancakes at the Pancake Palace.  Can he help Cecilia find the music before the paparazzi finds him first?  Will the people of Ware’s Grove keep his secret or sell him out?

This story gave me a whole new perspective on the state of New Jersey.  I actually found myself researching New Jersey to discover if there really was a Pinelands, a place that…..

          “…..can go unnoticed.  The trees are stubby, the paths are hard to find, and the      streams are lazy and slow.”
 
I also found myself craving pancakes, especially Aunt Emily’s famous Reds (cranberry), Blues (blueberry) and Whites (plain, but there’s nothing plan about them).

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