''Just Add Magic'' is a 2010 fictional

juvenile novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

by Cindy Callaghan. It tells the story of three young friends who find a mysterious and magical cookbook and create a secret cooking club. It was followed up by the 2018 book ''Potion Problems''.

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

adapted the book into a series of the same name.

Plot

Best friends Kelly, Darbie and Hannah find an old cookbook with a photo of Kelly’s grandmother and her two friends in Kelly's attic. In it, they find that the entries have been covered up by recipes with strange names like "Shut 'Em Up

Shortcake Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone like texture. There is multiple variations of shortcake most of which are usually served with fruit and cream, one of the most popular being strawberry shortcake which is typically s ...

" and "Hazelnut Healing

Tart A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes wit ...

". This is the excuse Kelly has been looking for to start a cooking club with Darbie and Hannah. They have to keep this cookbook a secret so that the magic doesn't fall into wrong hands. Kelly's little brother eats some of the shortcake and is unable to speak. Hannah eats some of the shortcake and can't talk either. Darbie added the cedronian vanilla while preparing the shortcake which means as a sacrifice, she has to keep talking incessantly until the spell breaks. Kelly and Darbie think there's something magical about these recipes, but Hannah remains

skeptical Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

. The three friends find themselves having some bad luck after using the recipes. They befriend an elderly woman named Mama P (Ida Perez), the owner of the cafe “MaMa P's”, a popular cafe where they buy the exotic ingredients needed for the magical recipes. She teaches them about the Law of Returns and they decide to perform (sometimes difficult) good deeds around their town to balance things out. Kelly’s grandmother, Rebecca Quinn (nee Patterson) loses the ability to talk and is diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Mama P tells them that she has been spelled by Miss Gina Silvers, a creepy old woman who lives alone in a spooky house, often sitting on her front porch scaring people. Many believe that Gina is a Witch. Mama P says that she will help them fight Miss Silvers and break the spell on Kelly’s grandma. But she does not tell them she has been under a spell as well and cannot get out of the town. Finally the girls cook their own spell which is called LAST DITCH LAYER CAKE which breaks away all the curses in town. They find out Kellys grandma cursed herself. They also find out Mama P is evil, not Miss Silvers.

Adaptation

adapted the novel for the 2015

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

season and later ordered a full season based on the response.

References

{{Reflist 2010 novels 2010 children's books Children's books adapted into television shows Children's books about magic