MY SAUCY STUFFED RAVIOLI

Whytock’s soufflé is a bit flat this time. Angel is as boy-crazy, food-crazy and worried about her “wobbly bits” as ever; her “girlies” (best friends) are ever loyal; and her father Potty is still potty. This time, her critical mother, usually too concerned about age lines to risk facial expressions, is inexplicably happy. Having never seen this before, Angel assumes it to imply an extra-marital affair. Angel swoons over an oblivious boy to an embarrassing degree and then takes off for an Italian vacation. In Italy, wonderful family cook Flossie lets her hair down. Angel’s fiascos (a swimsuit turning see-through; tanning lotion that streaks her skin orange) are amusing as always, but Whytock’s writing is less tight and less sparkly than in the first two volumes. The pleasure of food is still lovely (with recipes again sprinkled between chapters), but overall, this is a blander dish than the first two courses. (recipes) (Fiction. 10-14)