Book Review: The Thing About Leftovers

Hello everyone! So I’m going to take a break from writing a story every week, and I’ll do book reviews instead. So today the book I’ll be doing is called “The Thing About Leftovers” by C.C. Payne.

The rating I give it is 3/5 stars. But before I explain why, I’ll give you a summary.

This book is about a young girl named Fizzy Russo who likes to cook. Her parents got divorced in the past year, and her dad married a woman named Suzanne. Fizzy doesn’t like her because she thinks that Suzanne is perfect.

Meanwhile, Fizzy’s mother is dating a man named Keene. When it is discovered that her mother will marry Keene, Fizzy feels betrayed.

At school, she doesn’t have any friends until she meets a girl. They become friends and then Fizzy also meets a boy named Zach. Together they become a close-knit trio.

Fizzy likes to cook, like I said, and she enters a cooking contest. The rest you’ll have to read to find out.

The reason I give it 3 stars is next. First, Fizzy’s character is very relatable. She is a normal kid living her life and her account of being a divorced kid is so true. She also has a tendency to overthink things and makes a big deal out of something small, but bottles up these emotions. She’s convinced that she is the “leftover” product of her parent’s failed marriage and isn’t loved.

Second, the other characters are realistic and the book is well-written. It seems like it is written from a 12 year old girl’s account, in a good way. The character developments are perfectly crafted and I was interested the whole way through.

So you may ask, why did I only give it a 3/5?

It’s simple. What did I not mention? The ending.

The ending was a bit iffy for me. It seemed like all of Fizzy’s problems were miraculously fixed in the span of 2 weeks. While some of these may have been fixed easily, such as her getting karate lessons, but others seem like they should take longer to fix up. But I don’t want to spoil.

And in the span of half a chapter, Fizzy goes from being a sad, lonely, confused, witty 12 year old to this preppy, chipper, speaking in exclamation points only, yoga instructor-type person. It doesn’t suit her age and how the story played out until that point. And she becomes a 12 year old Dr. Phil, spouting wisdom that someone twice her age would take months trying to figure out and she understands it in about a week or two.

Otherwise, a good book. Maybe get it at the library, it seems like a one time read.

Hope you enjoyed the book review! Here’s the quote: “Not all who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien.

Have a wonderful day!