Cover Reveal: The Chocolate Box Girls: Fortune Cookie by Cathy Cassidy

book 1

book 2

book 3

book 4

book 5

Nayu: The above books are all from the amazing series by Cathy Cassidy (who is a lovely, prolific writer) about a group of sisters dealing with various issues which many readers can relate to. I adore these books because they are funny, I like the different personalities, I love the sense of family (and in some cases sense of being an outsider), I love the whole chocolate company idea. So I did some major squee-ing when I heard that the final book is out next year. (A whole year away - sob!) 

That was until I saw what it was about - a boy. The exact summary is below, but, knowing how much I want to see if Honey turns over a new leaf after Sweet Honey, and whether her rebellious side flares up when her brother appears on the scene, and just wanting to read more about the other sisters I've got over the fact that this final story is from a boy's view (honest!), and I'm super excited to reveal the title and cover for you now! It is....

Ta da!

Nayu: Here's the blurb for you: 

FORTUNE COOKIE by CATHY CASSIDY
Puffin HB, coming June 2015, £12.99, (9+)
 

Move over Chocolate Box Girls, there’s a new boy in town…
 

After the amazing twist at the end of Sweet Honey, the sixth and final book in Cathy Cassidy's Chocolate Box Girls series follows Jake, the Tanberry sisters' newly discovered half-brother...
 

As if the bombshell that he had three half-sisters wasn't enough, Jake's life in London is turning into a nightmare. He has nowhere to run - except for maybe his new family in Somerset... But Jake knows next to nothing about the Tanberrys. Will he be welcome there? And even if he is, can anyone really help him turn things around?

Can’t wait until June? Pre-order your copy of Fortune Cookie now and look out for a new Cathy Cassidy e-short coming in October. Moon and Stars sees Finch return to Tanglewood – just in time for Halloween!

Nayu: One thing which makes this series so much fun are the covers - yes I do sometimes take mine out just to look at them ^o^ That's why I'm including an explanation from the cover designer, Sara Chadwick-Holmes:
 

I got the idea for how Fortune Cookie should look very organically - when I heard the title I was instantly in Chinatown, all the sights and sounds and scents that place evokes in my head.
Sweet Honey was super hot pink to reflect Honey's fiery temper and the heat of Australia, Coco Caramel was sugared-almond pink to reflect Coco's sweetness, Summer's Dream was the pale yellow of a delicate summer sorbet, Marshmallow Skye was a slightly misty twilight blue like Skye's dreamy ghostly love story, and Cherry Crush was of course the cherry red of her namesake.
 

Jake, I decided, should be a jade green. He is a city boy who discovers he loves being outside with nature, hanging out under the branches of a willow tree by the banks of a river near Tanglewood… The willow pattern I have depicted is a beautiful love story from Ancient China where two star-crossed lovers who aren't allowed to be together run away and are turned into a pair of doves by the gods. The symbolism of running away and being as free as a bird rather suited Jake's story. I kept the colours a little muted, which gave the cover the feel of the satinny fabric that chinese cheongsam dresses are made of.
 

The chocolate for Jake shows a Chinese symbol of Good Fortune, and the other chocolates you might recognise, as they are all the other Chocolate Box Girls' chocolates. This story is the bringing together of all the characters and I felt it was right to show all the siblings together on this last book in the series.
 

I love this jacket, and really hope you love the story inside.
 

Sara x

Nayu: Me again! You might as well have more info about Cathy herself! Do check her books out, I've read a few but she has written many more in addition to The Chocolate Box Girls series which I plan to read in due course ^o^ 

Cathy Cassidy wrote her first picture book for her little brother when she was eight or nine and has been writing fabulous stories ever since. Her books have sold over one million copies in the UK alone. She is the bestselling author of Dizzy, Driftwood, Indigo Blue, Scarlett, Sundae Girl, Lucky Star, Gingersnaps and Angel Cake. Cathy went to Art College in Liverpool then got a job as fiction editor on Jackie magazine. She taught art in a Coventry secondary school for a few years before moving to Scotland with her husband to start a family. She continued to be an art teacher in the wilds of west Scotland for several years until she became a full-time writer. Cathy and her husband Liam have two grown up children and a whole bunch of unruly animals, and now live on the Wirral. www.cathycassidy.com.