In a sparkling debut reminiscent of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, comes Fiona Dunbar's story of Lulu Baker, an ordinary twelve-year-old who discovers a magical secret.Lulu Baker's dad is getting ready to marry his new girlfriend, world-famous model Varaminta le Bone. Everyone thinks Varaminta is fabulous. Everyone, that is, except Lulu. She knows that her stepmother-to-be, not to mention her awful son Torquil, is cruel, deceitful, and just using her father. But how can she make her dad see Varaminta and Torquil for who they really are?When a magical recipe book called THE APPLE STAR finds its way into Lulu's hands, she finds that some very unusual ingredients and some help from her friends just might do the trick.