Module 8: Pish Posh

Book Summary: Clara Frankofile is the resident snob of Pish Posh restaurant, owned and operated by her wealthy parents, including her maniacal French chef father. She is seated nightly at her own special table, sharing it with no one, and deciding if someone is a Somebody or a Nobody. Only those designated as a Somebody may stay in the restaurant and those that are considered Nobody's are kicked out. One evening, she decides that her former doctor is a Nobody. He explains as he is departing that there is a mystery in the restaurant. When Clara makes it her business to know everything that is happening at Pish Posh, she is troubled to understand what he means. The doctor ends up dying, leaving the mystery to be solved entirely by Clara. One night, a teen jewel thief hides out in one of Clara's elaborate rooms. Clara thinks she has made a friend, but discovers the girl has just stolen her pearls. She confronts and befriends her in order to discover the mystery behind the soup cook in her father's kitchen. It turns out that the soup cook is much older than anyone would have guessed.

APA Reference of Book:
Potter, E. (2006). Pish posh. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Impressions: At the beginning of this book, it is easy to not like Clara Frankofile. As an adult reading about a child's snobbish behavior, my first hope was some sort of vindication for her behavior. Part of the story is how she dismisses her former doctor as a Nobody, only for him to tell her that there is a mystery happening under her snobbish nose. Clara does not believe him, but does find the soup cook in her father's kitchen has curious behavior. She has little interaction with her parents and they put together elaborate spaces in their mansion to keep Clara entertained. The odd secret of Clara's father concealing his true heritage (he is not of French descent after all) does not really add anything to the plot except make one believe anybody can change overnight if she or he wishes. The story is engaging enough, but the ending comes too quickly and the intrigue surrounding the mystery soup cook could have actually been more descriptive. Solving the mystery does little to quell my thought: ok, mystery solved; why is Clara still a brat? I do not think this story has to be didactic in order to give any indication of what Clara has learned in the process. However, too little is given at all at the end.

Professional Review: "Monsieur Frankofile’s upscale restaurant, Pish Posh, has a gimmick: his daughter, Clara (11), who heartlessly polices the success or failure of each diner, determining who can have a reservation. This does wonders for the restaurant’s popularity and makes Clara a menacingly powerful and mysterious figure, until she becomes aware of a magical secret involving the least of her father’s soup chefs. Behind Clara’s discoveries and her public demeanor are larger revelations entwined in highly imaginative, stuffed-to-the-gills plot elements. Her initial cold narration focuses on her routine and her strange, over-the-top living conditions. Potter’s tremendous textual power diminishes in effectiveness as Clara’s inner life becomes more complex and she starts to interact with others, because easy solutions and quick fixes speed the storyline. This disconcerting turn in storytelling weakens the first fascination with the characters, as they flatten and disintegrate when lives and story are tidied up to accommodate a too-easy ending" (Kirkus, 2006, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ellen-potter/pish-posh/).

Kirkus Reviews. (2006, April 1). [Review of the book Pish posh, by E. Potter] Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ellen-potter/pish-posh/

Library Uses: I would recommend this book for middle grade kids interested in mysteries. The themes in this book are not too young in nature as to force a middle grade kid to call it "babyish" and it is not overly mature either.