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Seventeen-year-old Rose is a small-town waitress with a passion for creating new and unique flavors. When one of her spur-of-the-moment desserts impresses a famous food critic, Rose and her best friend, Fred, find themselves thrust into a baking competition halfway across the world. The contest features an intense 10 days full of bizarre challenges.
With some competitors willing to lie, cheat, and sabotage their way to the top, the competition is cutthroat. Rose may be in over her head, but this could be her only chance to make her dream come true, and she’s determined to show she can become a top chef.
Batter Royale is a clean young adult graphic novel with an uncomplicated plot and great artwork that makes it a perfect afternoon story to binge.
Sometimes the story feels too convenient. It has the opportunity to delve into deeper issues the characters face — Rose’s parents plan to get a divorce, and Fred’s mother is in danger of losing the family business — but instead, the reader is only given a glimpse of these problems, and the characters themselves aren’t given the chance to deal with any of it before flying off to join the competition. Even the competition filming passes so fast I was never able to get a real sense for the other contestants. I would have loved to see more time spent behind the scenes of the competition and to have the chance to hang out a little while longer with Rose and Fred as they deal with all the things life throws their way.
Overall, though, this is a really cute and clean story perfect for younger teens or even middle-grade readers. Recipes are also sprinkled throughout the pages, making it easy for food-loving readers to whip up some of their own desserts alongside Rose and Fred.
Rated: None. There are three uses of mild language.
