The Graham Cracker Plot

by Shelley Tougas

No one believes her, but Daisy Bauer knows her dad has been wrongfully imprisoned and that it's up to her to break him out of jail (aka Club Fed). She has a plan that she's calling the Graham Cracker Plot because it was all Graham's idea. She just needs a miniature horse, a getaway truck, and a penny from 1919—the idea coin.

This funny, nail-biter of a novel is about friendship and admitting you're wrong. Debut novelist Shelley Tougas balances humor and warmth against themes of family, broken trust, and unconditional love against all odds.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Family, Adventure, Friendship, Young Adult, Contemporary

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

I have a few titles: mom, wife, reader, teacher, speaker. Zombie hunter and Jedi Knight are only part-time gigs.

Most importantly, I’m a writer.

I wrote my first book at age seven, and my friend did the illustrations. Mom threw away A Robin Lays an Egg in a cleaning frenzy. My first publishing heartache.

After college, I worked as a journalist. Reporting taught me character, plot, voice, and how to write 15 inches of copy in 15 minutes. I wrote about strange people in absurd situations. Journalism is my training ground for fiction and my perspective on life. I’m thankful for every moment in that newsroom.

The Free Press, my writing boot camp.
The Free Press, my writing boot camp.

Then I jumped into public relations and eventually quit to write full time. Sometimes the decision felt like a terrifying free fall. But persistence pays.

I kept writing, and eventually companies published my work. Then nice people gave me some awards and honors. Then a lovely agent agreed to be my publishing partner.

Add novelist to my list of titles. The Graham Cracker Plot will be released in the fall of 2014.

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’m done with middle grade for a bit

[Elissa Schaeffer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Color me highly unimpressed.

Daisy lives the not-so-good life in a rundown trailer park with her recovering alcoholic mother. Her paternal grandmother sued for the right to spend one weekend a month with her in order for them both to visit Daisy's father in prison. Her best friend is a neighbor boy that she doesn't even like most of the time. So when her mom and her boyfriend go off on a vacation together, leaving her with sometimes-best-friend Graham "Cracker" and his only-sometimes-there mother, Daisy and Graham hatch a plot to bust her supposedly innocent father out of jail.

The one thing I can say that I truly liked about this book was the format done in a series of letters to Judge Henry. In truth, I couldn't even finish it. Once I got about 125 pages in, I skimmed the ending because I couldn't stomach reading the rest. There is nothing positive in Daisy's life and I couldn't really come up with a redeeming character. I knew where things were headed once they got out of the thunderstorm and thought, "nope, I'm done" because I didn't want to stick with Daisy through this. At some point, even if she's only 11, she needs to come to the realization that what she's doing isn't right and isn't justified and basically next to impossible. But she doesn't. The thought never seems to enter her mind, or anyone else's mind for that matter.

Maybe it will find some readers in my library, but I'm not one of them. Not recommended. :(

[Shazzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Plots" never end well. "Plots" involve hastily drawn maps, accomplices and getaway cars. "The Graham Cracker Plot" has all these things and more, and is less a madcap adventure than a sober look at a couple of kids "in need of hope". Daisy lives with her mother, a recovering alcoholic, in a trailer park. Her father, "The Chemist", resides nearby in a minimum security prison. When her mother takes a vacation without her, Dairy seizes the opportunity and, inspired by her friend Graham, hatches a plan to break her father out of jail. What follows is a laundry list of how things go wrong.

This is not the kind of book that has a "happy" ending. No one rides off into the sunset, birds do not chirp, and no one is singing. But the one thing Tougas does leave her characters with is hope, which might be more valuable than singing birds, anyway.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this epistolary middle grade novel, Daisy writes to a Judge to explain her reasoning behind the plot to break her father out of a Federal Prison.

The series of letters reveal the family issues and poverty surrounding young Daisy and her neighbor/'friend' Graham. They seek to escape neglect, parent alcoholism, and school bullying. The plan is to move to Canada with Daisy's newly freed father, but they encounter one mishap after another.

Both heart-wrenching and humorous, this novel depicts the issues of poverty and adult addiction through the eyes of these resourceful and resilient children.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I picked it up for my kids to read and then I ended up reading it first. I got caught up in the story and love the characters. I even shed a few tears at the end. Something about flawed yet loveable characters living hard lives with hope...

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is totally a book I would want to be teaching if I were still working with sixth graders. Really fresh voice, and characters that you don't see very often in books. It deals with really hard topics, such as having a parent in prison, with humor, honesty, and respect.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story concept. I only read a galley so I have to revisit when finally published to make a decision.

[Dana Tuss · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great little book! I laughed out loud at the crazy plan and loveable kids doing it. Good lessons about life and love.

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a series of letters to Judge Henry, eleven-year-old Daisy Bauer, explains that she and her friend, Graham, devised and carried out a plan to rescue her father from a minimum security prison (Club Fed) and move to Canada, because Daisy is banned from visiting her father in prison now. But the plot to help him escape causes more problems which Daisy blames on Graham and his Idea Coin.

When Daisy's mom and the boyfriend leave Daisy with Graham's mom while they go on vacation, a plan is formed to rescue the Chemist (as Daisy calls her father who exploded some chemicals in a house) goes into effect.

The plan involves Ashley the teen-aged neighbor who gets help from the county--but she can drive; a thunderstorm which leads the trio to an empty church family's house where they take a minature horse for the escape; and other escapades that are hilarious but also gut-wrenchingly sad because Daisy is so desperate to protect her father from further harm.

I appreciated seeing the view point of kids who are on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder and their struggles to climb out of their situations.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tougas, Shelley The Graham Cracker Plot, 278 pages. Roaring Book Press, 2014. $17. Language: PG (2 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.

The story starts out with a girl who likes to go by "Daisy". Her dad is in prison for something that wasn't his fault. She misses him very much and doesn't really like her new step dad. She makes a plan to break him out of prison. With her friend and a couple others, she goes on a mission to save her dad. They call the mission the Graham Cracker Plot.

I thought the book was a funny and exciting. It doesn't take long to get into the "action" in the book. I never find myself bored while reading it. It can grab your attention and keep it all the way through the book.

EL, MS - ADVISABLE 7th grade student reviewer DA
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Avery Rider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy Bauer and her best friend Graham are trying to come up with a plan to break Daisy's father out of jail. Daisy knows her father has been wrongfully accused of his crime so they try to come up with a plan. She has a plan to break him out and she names it the Graham Cracker Plot after her friend Graham. All she needs is a mini horse a getaway truck and a penny from 1919, "the idea coin". Can Daisy pull off the plan to help her dad escape?

[Charlie Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey there! This is Charlie P! I am eleven years old and I read books to raise money for charity. I want to help moms pick out books that their kids will like! Here is another review by me

This book was super exciting and interesting. Super full of action and surprising plot twists. But even as it was exciting I thought it moved really fast. Sometimes that can confuse me. Don’t get me wrong the book was super good just fast paced. Ages 9 to 12

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny at times, when you could forget the basic premise, but really just overwhelmingly sad.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!!!! Great plot and characters!!

[Bear · Rating 2 out of 5]

...not sure what to say.

[Penelope Gonzalez-Aguilar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. Only read to page 15.

[Ana Calabresi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy Bauer firmly believes her dad had been unfairly imprisoned and, with the help of her sometimes best friend Graham, she devises a plan to break her father out of jail. The narrative is told in Daisy’s perspective, as letters to Judge Henry. The reader is engaged from the beginning, curious about what probably went wrong since the girl needs to explain to a judge what happened.

I really enjoyed this book. The author built enough tension in each chapter to keep me going and, little by little, we find out more about Daisy and her dysfunctional family: her father is not married to her mother (we can’t really say if they were ever married, my guess would be no); her mother is a recovering alcoholic who is now dating an older nice guy; they live in a mobile home park. We realize Daisy is surrounded by poverty and challenges.

Daisy’s mother goes on a trip to Mexico with her boyfriend and leaves Daisy with her neighbor friend, Graham’s mother. Graham is a very well constructed character too. He is the boy who is bullied in school, and he has a good heart. Daisy is his friend after school only, the typical stand-by student in a bullying situation. I found their relationship very intriguing, and at times I felt for Graham, as Daisy is too bossy. Throughout the book, she wants to prove all the trouble was caused by Graham, she is convinced the escape plan was his idea, not hers.

Tougas was very clever in her writing about such strong themes: children in poverty, at risk, adults dealing with alcoholism, mental illnesses and drugs. She doses the seriousness of the subjects with humor. For the adult reader, it is heartbreaking to see the naivety of the children. The children characters are spared of the harshness of their situation until almost the very end of the story. The adults try to protect them, hiding the cruelty of the reality that surrounds them.

Despite such strong subject, the reader is entertained with the incredible plot that the children create to break Daisy’ dad from prison. We cheer for Daisy and Graham as they go through all kinds of obstacles in fulfilling their naive plan. In Daisy’s head, she is just correcting a mistake from the adults; she is making justice with her own hands. Only to realize her dad really had a reason to be where he was, which breaks her heart at the end. However, she learns an important lesson about her life and her friendship with Graham.

Book provided by the publisher through NetGalley

[Sue Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judge Henry told Daisy to write everything that she thinks and feels about her attempt to break The Chemist out of Club-Fed (prison). Mom thinks Daisy should be able to have it done it just a few nights but not-quite-twelve year old Daisy (she refuses to go by Aurora Dawn) has been keeping things in and she has a lot to say.

But she’s sure of one thing above all else – the whole thing is her friend Graham’s fault. After all, the break out was his idea.

Life isn’t easy when your dad is a resident of Club-Fed. But Daisy gets to see him once a month and reassures herself with the fact that the one-time college turned minimum security prison isn’t all that bad. There aren’t any serious criminals there and she’s sure The Chemist is innocent.

Then one Saturday she finds him with half his face swollen and a missing tooth. Apparently he had a disagreement with some of his fellow prisoners. Daisy is so upset that she ignores the “no touching” rule and climbs into his lap. This earns her a six-month ban and a belly full of anger. This anger feeds into the plan to spring the Chemist from Club-Fed.

As an adult reader I immediately realized that the Chemist didn’t accidentally set the house on fire doing a science experiment. He was most likely cooking up some product for sale and distribution. Daisy finds this out late in the took. She’s also realized that Graham is often a better friend to her than she is to him and that Judge Henry may be strict but he knows a thing or two about truth and about people and even about her.

This book covers a lot of touch topics but it is still solidly middle grade. The author moves the story along quickly and Daisy’s sassy, energetic voice keeps things from going to the dark side.

Don’t hold this book back from your young reader because it deals with these topics. They will love it for the same reason that they love The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. They’ll love it because Tougas is willing to tell them tough truths about the world.

This and other books reviewed on The Bookshelf (suebe2.wordpress.com).

[Ashleu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted here

I am very into friendship books lately, in part because I’ve thinking of my own friendships because hi, even though I’m adult friendships are still hard and complicated and in part because those are the books I’ve been picking up. Romance and friendship, and I’m okay with this. The Graham Cracker Plot is no different. Although it’s a story of family, trust, and love, it’s also a book about friendship.

Daisy wants nothing more than to be normal and have her father out of jail; however, she is nothing but normal. Her father, the Chemist is in Club Fed, her mother, a recovering alcoholic, has a new boyfriend, and her only real friend lives next door to her in the trailer park. She is in denial that Graham is a true friend, but to the reader it is clear that what they have is a true friendship. This is not an easy book to read, it was painful. That sounds weird to say, a middle grade novel that is painful to read, but it’s true. Daisy is on a hopeless quest and refuses to admit that she’s wrong. She is that stubborn pre-teen that everyone knows, or you were when you were her age.

What I found enjoyable was that the characters acted their age. They planned a heist without thinking of the repercussions. They broke into a house and didn’t think about what would happen. They plan on pulling her father out of jail with no idea about what would happen. I thoroughly enjoyed how Tougas made this un-realistic tale, actually quite realistic. Daisy is an 11 year old girl who wants her dad, the Chemist, out of jail. When the truth comes out about the chemist her heart breaks because everyone has that idealized version of their parents, and when that turns out to be not true? It hurts. This is something Daisy is forced to face and deal with, but by the end, I believe she will be okay.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Daisy Bauer simply adores her father, and when she sees that he's been mistreated while in prison, she and her friend Graham Hassler hatch a wild plan to free the Chemist, as Daisy calls her dad. The book begins after things have gone wrong, and Daisy is required to write a letter to Judge Henry. Quite reluctantly and filled with anger, she does so. The entire book consists of her heartfelt letters, showing the detail of the plot as well as the evolution of Daisy as a person. There are all sorts of zany characters and subtle nuances threaded through the book--for instance, Graham's cousin Ashley who experiences wild mood swings as the result of a car wreck, and Daisy's failure to stand up for Graham when the school bullies tease him. Then, too, Daisy makes plenty of mistakes and makes poor choices, but she does so with her heart in the right place. Both Daisy and Graham have mothers who mean well but just find it hard to follow through on their intentions, making this book one with which many middle grade readers will be able to relate. Two things that particularly touched me were the fact that Daisy insists she still loves her father even after she learns the truth about what he's done, and Judge Henry's insistence that youngsters such as Graham and Daisy should be called "children in need of hope" (p. 273) instead of being labeled as "at-risk children." Yes, those phrases and those labels may be a matter of semantics, but they also remind all of us how grim life is if there are no dreams of the future or no hope. Additionally, this one joins that very limited list of books dealing with families who have an incarcerated member whose absence leaves a void in the home.
With the high number of men and women in the nation's jails and prisons, it seems important to have their stories be told too.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debut novelist Shelley Torgas offers an epistolary novel where the themes focus on family and unconditional love against all odds. Written in a series of letters to Judge Henry, it soon becomes clear that eleven-year=old Daisy is in need of help; she is in deep trouble.

Daisy leads a marginal existence in a rundown trailer park with her mother, a recovering alcoholic. Her father is in prison, and her best friend Graham is a neighbor boy she doesn’t even tolerate most of the time. Graham’s life is not much easier; his mother is only sometimes in the picture. So when Daisy mother and her mother’s boyfriend go off on a vacation together, leaving Daisy in the care of Graham’s family, Daisy and Graham naively devise a plot to break her (supposedly) innocent dad out of jail. They invite Graham’s cousin Ashley (who is irrational and helpless due to a brain injury) to take part in their plan, rounding out the cast of dysfunctional characters. The rest is a lesson in how things go terribly wrong.

Torgas does not offer readers a happy ending. The characters are flawed. Dialogue is sometimes coarse and the story touches on jail, alcoholism, drugs, poverty, children at risk, and absent parents. Despite these elements, the story is humorous and readers will laugh at the characters’ escapades despite their deplorable choices. Even though Daisy is clearly in the wrong, readers will find themselves cheering for her. And when she learns an important lesson about her life and friendship with Graham, readers will want to offer Daisy hope for the future.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy and her friend Graham are in serious trouble—with the law. They were basically left to fend for themselves in a seedy trailer park as their moms gave up on being responsible parents. Although Daisy’s dad, “The Chemist,” is in prison, she loves him dearly; her paternal grandmother takes her to see him often. Feeling hopeless and helpless, Daisy and Graham devise a plan to break her dad out of jail and flee with him to Canada so they can start a new and better life. But their adolescent, impractical plan is doomed from the start. They find themselves trying to keep their plan viable but end up breaking several laws in the process. Readers discover the dire circumstances of Daisy’s life through the letters she writes to Judge Henry as part of making amends for her crimes. In the process she discovers the truth about her dad and some serious truths about herself. She is an unlikely, but gutsy heroine dealing with dysfunctional adults and adult issues like poverty, alcoholism and CPS visits. This sobering read has a lot to offer and will resound with too many young readers facing these same problems. But its strong message of hope and the meaning of family are worthwhile and not to be missed. It’s a solid addition to any library.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a series of letters to Judge Henry, it soon becomes clear that almost 12-year-old Daisy is in deep trouble. She lives with her struggling, recovering alcoholic mother in a trailer park. Her mother is preoccupied with earning enough money to survive and care for Daisy. Her father is in prison, and her beautician grandmother is the one who takes Daisy on monthly visits to see him. Surrounded by dysfunctional characters such as her friend Graham who is impulsive and not quite with it, Daisy has a tough existence. When her grandmother shares her regret that her son is in prison and wishes he wasn't, Daisy decides to help. With her friend Graham and his beautiful cousin Ashley whose brain injury leaves her irrational and helpless, the 3 execute a prison break for her father. This over the top adventure is convoluted, yet successfully exciting and suspenseful. The ending is a surprise and grounds all of the escapades into a more believable reality. There is quite a bit of course language, and the subject matter of jail, alcoholism, drugs, etc. might be more appropriate for 5th-8th grade readers.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ Interview with my 9year old ~

Describe The Graham Cracker Plot in five words: Awesome. Hilarious. Adventurous. Exciting. Good.

Did the like the audiobook: Yeah. The narrator sounded like she was a twelve year old girl, which was a good thing. Because Daisy is almost twelve.

What I liked: They were trying to break Daisy's dad out of jail which was cool. He was in there in there for messing with drugs and blowing stuff up. (Mom automatically thinks of the grownup show, Breaking Bad.)

Favorite character: Graham. He's Daisy's friend. He acts dumb but he's really not. He's smart. He's always talking about going to Canada and I'd like to go there someday too.

Ashley was funny too. She's kind of crazy and she has---well, I don't want to mess anything up for you, but she can do stuff with her head.

Did you learning anything? There are consequences for both kids and adults.

How many stars would give The Graham Cracker Plot? I would give it 6 stars because it was incredibly awesome!

[Jessica Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Graham Cracker Plot Shelley Tougas takes the reader into the world of Daisy, a precocious 12 year old who knows people are not perfect but truly believes in their basic goodness. With wit, humor and a heavy dose of truth the author gives a message that hope is still possible and there is always a way out of a bad situation. Through the honesty of a child we see how good intentions can go sideways, how every action has a consequence and how whether we like it or not our bad choices do have penalties. The Graham Cracker Plot is a wonderfully written story of learning to become better people and helping those around us to become better as well. What I love about this book was that all the characters take responsibility for their choices and actions. There is no blaming their situation on anyone else, they take it as it comes and make choices to try to better it.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Graham Cracker Plot is sometimes heartbreaking at others hysterically funny. It is also a sobering look at the struggles of single parents, the working class and those with a lack of opportunity. Daisy is the eleven year old child of a recovering alcoholic and a father, known as the Chemist who is currently incarcerated. When Daisy's grandmother mentions that her father was wrongly imprisoned, Daisy begins crafting a plan for his escape. The plan which is doomed from the start makes for laugh out reading! Although the book has plenty of humor the lives that Daisy and her best friend Graham are living is often grim and filled with harsh realities. At times I was frustrated by Daisy's lack of accountability but in the end she begins to take responsibility for her actions. This is a tough but enjoyable read and is recommended for people who enjoy realistic fiction or family drama.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought The Graham Cracker Plot was an extraordinary book. Though you'd think by the childish name that the book would be about kids making s'mores, the book is about a girl who is friends with a guy that has dreams to go up to Canada and live in a cabin. They both make a plan called The Graham Cracker Plot and try to break the girls dad out of prison because of some illegal "chemical" accident that happened in the house which destroyed some property. Getting help along the way, the troubled kids have an interesting road trip along the way. I really enjoyed this book because you got to discover the characters thoughts and emotions in first person POV. Because of this, I could feel anger, sadness and annoyance of what was happening for each conflict that the characters came in contact with. I definitely recommend this book who enjoys a quick read and a plot twist at the end.

[Grayson Pysczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read The Graham Cracker Plot by Shelley Tougas. The book is about how the main characters dad got put in prison for something he didn't do. Since the main character lives with only their mom, their mom goes on vacation leaving them to stay with one of the kids from school. They both are undergoing problems, and they eventually gone to the conclusion that they were gonna break the dad out of prison and runaway to Canada.

I liked this book because it had a lot of event changes from a plan failing to becoming even more of a nightmare, to driving in a little rain and eventually having to break into someone's house to have shelter.

I recommend this book for sixth grade and up because their are some suggestive stuff in the book but that's probably it. It also does have some hard words in it too.

[Jessalyn King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was immensely sad. It was the kind of sad that you wish you could just tune out, because it's reality kind of sad. I kept thinking "no no no!" And laughing at their shenanigans, and then remembering that they're kids who are doing awful things because of reasons that seem good at the time. The parents were decent parents, despite their situations, and a part of the story (which was good). And I think these guys seemed like decent 12 year olds. I can't imagine making better choices when I was that age! (I just never needed to try to break someone out of prison...) In any case, the whole thing was sad, but well written. I wouldn't listen to it in audio though, if I could redo things. The reader did her best to sound 12, and it was weird.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most interesting book of all time is the Graham Cracker Plot by Shelley Tougas. This book does have some bad words, but they are rarely used. If you want to see how to break your dad(The Chemist) out of jail(Club Fed)with some help(Graham Cracker) and of course a driver(Ashley) then this is the book for you. There's action , adventure, and lots of mystery and fighting.

Does your mom have a new boyfriend(Alex)and is weird around you? If so the mom and stepdad are perfect to help you get through the hard time. When you need a friend in Daisies point of view don't go to Graham Crackers house or you'll get a stuamic ache. Daisy might be surprised about who Graham is.

To find out what happens next...Wait till my next review.