From School Library Journal Grade 7-10 - While attempting to piggyback on the "chick lit" craze, Sandoval offers a more pedantic view of the lives and loves of adolescent girls. Three 16-year-old friends are social outcasts because of their fathers. Lila's dad is the chief of police, Meryl's is the head of discipline at their high school, and Caressa's is a blues musician whose fame intimidates possible beaus. Now how do three girls who are this socially crippled by their fathers' professions survive homecoming? Their answer is a "Dumb Supper," a Celtic ritual that is supposed to help them find their true loves. Unfortunately, the dinner ceremony is interrupted, and so the question is: Are the young men they meet their destiny or just plain luck? The lessons get a bit heavy-handed, especially when two of the girls are involved in a search for a lost child during a snowstorm, but teenagers will respond to the unfairness of parental punishments and the unpredictability of love. Be prepared for a few tries at Dumb Suppers in your area.
