The Candymakers and the Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass

Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Philip are off on a hunt to find the mystery chocolate in this fun follow-up to The Candymakers.

The Candymakers and the Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass. Little, Brown, 2016. 544 pages.

Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12

Recommended For: Middle grades, ages 8-12 (especially voracious readers!)

The four who solved a delicious-sounding mystery in The Candymakers are back in this new chocolate-y adventure. In the first volume, Philip’s chocolate bar had won a candy contest, ensuring a sweet future for the Life is Sweet candy company who had the rights to produce the winning bar. But something wasn’t right: the bar that the company made just wasn’t quite the same. According to contest rules, it had to be exactly the same. Miles, Daisy, Logan, and Philip (together with a nice supporting cast of characters) determine to solve the new mystery as they head out on Philip’s candy bar promo tour. What they discover is magical. Chocolate-y. And world-changing. And they realize why the mysterious chocolate can no longer be used–even though it has somewhat mystical powers.

Mass continues her practice of using more than one perspective to tell the story, but this time, the four characters start out unified. As they work together, the secrets they unearth prompt some surprisingly deep conversations: would you change things if you could? What would you do with a world-changing ingredient that has tremendous power for good or ill? Is it right to tamper with life’s natural processes (such as aging)? How do you decide who gets the last of a special medicine? Sweet on the surface, but rich and fulfilling underneath (like a candy-coated chocolate!), this novel is a satisfying follow-up.

Cautions: Supernatural (magical place with mystical powers)

Overall Rating: 4

Worldview Rating: 4

Artistic Rating: 4