Tess Medina (white) is starting eighth grade at a new school in a new city and feels lonely. She’s also still mourning her dad, a professional baker, who died three years ago. Tess is also a baker; at the time of her dad’s death, she was a finalist in the Jubilee Flour Junior Baker West Coast Competition. Now, she makes treats to share, and two kids at her new school, Elly and Rajeet, quickly become her good friends. Ironically, Tess’s own do-not-eat list is growing thanks to pains in her stomach, which she compares first to a woodpecker, then a porcupine. As the pain becomes even more excruciating, she refers to it as The Knife. But Tess keeps it a secret from her mom and her friends, along with her increasingly intense, sudden need for the bathroom. It’s not until after she passes out at school and ends up in the hospital that Tess is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Elly and Rajeet are nothing but supportive when she finally tells them her diagnosis, and cheer Tess on when she’s determined to proceed with plans to compete in Jubilee Flour Best of the Best Bake-Off. Strong writing distinguishes this novel about learning to live with a chronic illness. Tess discovers that even though Crohn’s disease is something she can’t necessarily control, and it sometimes impacts what she can do, her illness does not define her.