In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin - ESSENTIAL

Zevin, Gabrielle  In the Age of Love and Chocolate, 286 pgs.  Farrar Straus Giroux, 2013.  $17.99 

Content: Language G (1 swear); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

Anya Balanchine is an eighteen year old orphan who takes care of her sister and her older brother.  She has overcome hardship and has decided to open a cacao night club in New York to offer people something similar to illegal chocolate.  She joins with Mr. Delacroix, her ex-boyfriends father, who used to be her nemesis because she knows that together they can be successful.  Anya’s success comes at a cost as she tries to do right by the people she cares about.  

This is the last book in the Birthright series and I loved it!  It made me laugh and cry and Anya is a great character to watch grow and learn.  The writing is awesome and pulls you into Anya’s story of love and loss.  I loved this entire series and wish I could read it again for the first time.  The content is mild and appropriate for middle school or high school even though the characters are high school age.  

MS, HS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.