The Doughnut King

The Doughnut Fix #2

by Jessie Janowitz

Superfudge meets The Lemonade War in the second book of this charming, funny, and heartwarming series about growing up, family, change, and as always, doughnuts.

Tris Levin thought moving from New York City to middle-of-nowhere Petersville meant life would definitely get worse...only it actually got better. But just when things are looking up, problems start rolling in.

His doughnut business has a major supply issue. And that's not the worst part, Petersville has its own supply problem, it doesn't have enough people. Folks keep moving away and if they can't get people to stay, Petersville may disappear.

Petersville needs to become a tourist destination, and his shop could be a big part of it, if Tris can keep up with demand. There's only one solution: The Belshaw Donut Robot. If Tris can win "Can You Cut It," the cutthroat competitive kids' cooking show, he can get the cash to buy the machine. But even with the whole town training and supporting him, Tris isn't sure he can live with what it takes to takes to win. 

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Food, Audiobook, Childrens, Young Adult

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2019

About the author

"The Doughnut Fix" is Jessie Janowitz's first book!

Jessie grew up in New York City and still lives there with her family.

Her debut middle grade novel THE DOUGHNUT FIX was a 2018 Cybils finalist, a Spring 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month (Apr 2018), and received a starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. The sequel, THE DOUGHNUT KING, out from Sourcebooks May 2019, is also a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Reviews

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com

The Doughnut King is the second book in a series featuring twelve-year-old Tris and his doughnut business. The first book ‘The Doughnut Fix‘ I reviewed back in April 2018 and loved it, so when I heard there would be a second book I couldn’t wait to get started on it and see where life had taken Tris and his family since the last book.

Tris Levin’s business is booming, the trouble is that he can’t keep up with demand and when people are coming from far and wide to sample his doughnuts and there are none left they are getting angry and leaving negative comments about his business. He needs a plan and fast.

It’s not only Tris that is having issues. He hometown of Petersville is too. The little village with just one high street is struggling. People don’t want to move to this little place and if they are not careful it could just disappear altogether. After a town planning meeting, the residents come up with an idea to offer the shops at a discounted price to people. Hopefully with all the shops filled people will want to visit, but they need help in marketing the town too.

An idea is soon planted in Tris’s mind. A children’s cookery show is looking for contestants and the winner will walk away with a large sum of money, enough to buy a doughnut machine that could help Tris make more and expand his business. He could also advertise his little town on national TV. But with the contestants all out to win and a judge who clearly dislikes him, can Tris keep a level head long enough to win the programme or will everything become too much for the young lad?

The Doughnut King begins right where The Doughnut Fix left off. Whilst I believe this book could be read as a standalone, I would always advise reading the first book as it will help you to understand how Tris got to where he is now and what he went through to become ‘doughnut famous’.

The book was a quick read and so enjoyable from beginning to end. Because I had already learned so much about Tris, his family, and friends in the first book I found being back in their presence such a delight and was eager for Tris to do well in the competition. I was also happy to be back listening to his talented and extremely clever little sister Jeanine.

There is so much charm in this story and I just didn’t want it to end. I do hope that there will be more books in the series as they have both been superb reads and have had some very heart-warming moments alongside some laugh-out-loud ones too. I also adore the recipes at the back of the books and can’t wait to try out the ones in this book. One warning though, reading this book might just make you hungry!

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounded up from 4.5 stars. The saga of Tris and his famous doughnuts continues in this second book of the series. I do hope there will be more. In this installment, Tris competes in a cooking show with unexpected results. Meanwhile his new hometown of Peterville is struggling not to disappear. If only Tris could figure out a way to make more doughnuts to meet the demand. Delicious recipes included!

A big thank you to Sourcebooks and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this new middle grade novel.

[Emma López · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book
But at first I didn’t really like the ending but…
When i kept reading it it was better
So it’s a 4 it’s just the ending for me

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tristan’s donut business takes off and suddenly he’s dreaming of new equipment so he can keep up with demand AND, possibly, save his small town. Luckily, he gets an opportunity to compete for the money he needs. We loved this story and were cheering for Tristan the whole way through. I rarely love a sequel as much as the first book but this is a top-knotch series for the whole family to listen to!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Middlegrade/Contemporary. I liked this one. It was cute and funny and the little sister really made this one enjoyable.

I've been reading a lot of 2 and 3 star books lately, so this was a nice change. So 4 stars for the entertainment value. Just what I needed today.

[Paddy Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book The doughnut king, a loveable boy runs a doughnut shop in a town in upstate New York which is slowly disappearing and is having supply and demand issues. So he finds a doughnut robot that might help him. The only problem it costs $50,000. A few days later his sister applied for a kids cooking show and the prize is $100,000. Will he be able to win the prize money to buy his doughnut robot?

[Max Yeshnowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO good! It was funny and it had a lot to do with baking and cooking which is a big passion of mine. I HIGHLY recommend!!!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tris is a typical boy, in a small town, that is if typical boys have cooking shows as their favorite things to watch, and run a doughnut shop after school and on weekends.

This is the follow up book to the first book about Tris, where we find out what happened after he created the perfect doughnut. In this story, he goes on a reality tv cooking show, to win money to get a doughnut machine so he can make his recipe faster to keep up with demand.

The head chef has it out for Tris, for some reason and the high jinks begin.

But, with all this, we have the friendship of his family and friends, helping him along.

It is a little slow at the beginning, but once we get to the reality TV show, it picks up the pace.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Jaymie · Rating 5 out of 5]

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

A delight from start to finish! I adored this sequel to the terrific The Doughnut Fix. This has the same great characters and the same heart and humor. But the story arc for Tris is stronger and richer. Tris wrestles with his identity and tries to find his way through a reality TV cooking show that challenges his character even more than his cooking skills. And while not perfect, Tris absolutely shines through it all. Highly recommend!

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!!!!

[Mrs. Mazzola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sequels are often disappointing, unable to repeat the magic from the first book. I'm happy to say that is not the case for this one! This story is just as funny, filled with compelling characters and an impeccably described setting that makes you feel like you are actually in Peterville with Tris. I especially liked the focus on the business development, though I did miss the interactions with his family which were much more prominent in the first book. Will definitely purchase for my collection.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW - this book is something that's very hard to do - better than its sequel. There were some small things that I didn't like (like how the plot seemed to skate over Jeanine being a jerk by submitting Tris' name to the competition even though he specifically stated he didn't want to do that) but overall, a STUNNING sequel and lovely story all around.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book for free a while ago and it has been sitting on my shelf since, but I finally decided to read it and I didn't like it. I didn't even know this was the second book in a series until I went to review it. The book seemed all over the place with no character development, or really any plot.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this fun MG about a cooking contest, small town life and a boy who can admit when he's wrong! Lots of teamwork between friends and of course, yummy descriptions of doughnuts with recipes at the back. Now I'll have to look for Book 1!

[Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read this book, I tear through just as fast as I could eat a butterscotch cream doughnut. This book is one of my all time favorites. Great plot, great idea, and hilarious. I recommend this book to likes doughnuts, humor, and annoying little siblings.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's not to like? Kids running their own business. Kids wanting to save their small town. A TV Cooking Competition.
This is an enjoyable Middle Grades Series

[Marjolein Sophie]

don't come for me i know I'm 22 but brian holden was narrating so obviously i had to

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was just as delightful as the first.
5th-6th target audience, The cooking competition storyline was engaging.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sequel! Highly recommend.

This book focuses on:
-Creating a strategy to increase supply for your business product
-Researching how to help small towns attract people and business
-Cooking / baking skills (associated with a cooking competition)

Some themes:
-Guilt and conscience
-Taking responsibility for your actions
-Battling the fear and pressure of being in front of groups of people
-Different ways to approach a competition / competitors
-Trying to manage what people think about you
-Creativity
-Marketing
-Learning how to handle negative comments written by people online
_

Notable Quotes:

“There was something about having to figure something out with everyone watching that made my brain feel like it was churning through chewing gum.”

“I guess right now we both wanted the other one to want something different, and maybe that’s ok. What wasn’t ok, was that I was the only one who could admit it.”

“How could he not get it? I didn’t need another story from him about how everything was great! I didn’t need a story about how he figured it all out. Those stories were never going to help me! What I needed was a story about how he messed up so bad he had no idea how to make it right, or if in which direction he had to go to get to right.“

A revelation regarding hate mail: “Why would I listen to someone who didn’t even know me?”
_

Content:

“I swear” is said a few times as an expression (not as a promise).

There are a couple of comical sections where the kids feel their parents sometimes stick with rules that don’t make any sense. (Example: They can only watch cooking shows on TV, but nothing else on TV even if it’s educational).

Other content is similar to the first book.

No romance or profanity.
_

SPOILER….
.
.
.
.
.
There are a lot of great thoughts about cheating. What constitutes cheating, whether it matters if it was accidental or intentional, can it be rationalized, processing what to do if you cheated, guilt, wondering what people will think if they find out. Ultimately, what is the right thing to do?

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we read this, we were totally unaware it was a book 2, and that's great -- it's a stand-alone story and was able to pull us into Tris' dilemma, without the backstory from book 1.

Tris's doughnuts are all the rage in the town of Petersville, but they're about all the town's got going for it. When he can't keep up with supply, the demand turns nasty and negative reviews online threaten the shop.

His answer: buy a Belshaw Donut Robot. Price tag: $50,000. His parents don't have the cash; his mother's restaurant is failing and his father doesn't have a job. He writes to fellow entrepreneur, the Tea King, aka Alhaadi Okello, once a poor immigrant who made millions from his upstate New York business, Majani Tea. But Tris never gets a response to his email.

Fortunately, Tris' little sister Jeanine applies for the perfect backup plan -- have Tris compete as a contestant in the reality TV cooking show, Can You Cut It? But the producer had ties to Tris' mother, and things get very complicated very quickly when they should just be about cooking.

I won't spoil how it ends, just know, when everything is darkest for Tris, watch for Okello.

This book honors the entrepreneurial spirit of all immigrants who come to the United States looking to make a better life for themselves, their families and their adopted country.

Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another super fun installment of the Doughnut Fix stories! (This one had the recipes included in the ARC I got, thanks Jessie Janowitz!)
In this story Tris, founder of the Doughnut Stop is struggling. He and his partner Josh can't keep up with demand, people are posting negative reviews, his parents are struggling financially but keeping it a secret, and his town, Petersville, is dying. But he's only 12 what is he supposed to do about it? Being Tris, take the weight of everything on his own shoulders. I feel so hard for this kid. His anxiety is through the roof, but his heart is pure gold. His anxiety comes to the fore when his sister Janine enters him into a super intense Chopped-like cooking contest for kids, because the prize is $100K and could solve all their problems.
Tris takes one for the team, pushing through major anxiety and doing his best through the whole process, and it's just sweet and fun at the same time. Life lessons, like it's ok to mess up, even if it's a huge mess up, as long as you own up are sprinkled throughout the story, along with amazing descriptions of food and interesting factoids. I can't wait to find out more about Tris' Doughnut Empire.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to The Doughnut Fix, Tris's donut shop has really taken off. There are two big problems however. First, Tris & Josh can't keep up with demand. No matter how early Tris gets up to bake, they sell out of doughnuts much too quickly. Second, his new hometown of Petersville is disappearing. While the town takes extreme action to be sure it isn't wiped off the map, Tris is taking some drastic measures of his own. He becomes a contestant on a children's cooking show, hoping that the grand prize will not only save his doughnut shop, but also save the town of Petersville. This fun entrepreneurial romp will make more sense if you read The Doughnut Fix first. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't know this was the second book but it can be read as a standalone.

Tris and Josh own The Doughnut Stop. Keeping up with the demand is too hard but Tris finds a solution but it is expensive. Little does he know that his sister is going behind his back and that move may just make it possible for his to get his solution.

I like Tris. He's a little high strung but he does his best. I like that there are lessons shown in the book but it does not beat you over the head with those lessons. Honesty is very important. I like how Tris does it. He teaches his parents the importance of honesty. His sisters add to the story--brainy and cute. The town is important and how the townspeople come together to save it is cool. This is a good read and now I must read the first book.

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was REALLY boring. Tristain, the main character, gets into a cooking show and ends up accidentally cheating and admits to. I feel like the ended was bad and the whole idea was just plain boring. Not a pleaser for me.

[LibraryLaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to Evan over the summer and he really enjoyed it.

[Nicola Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting ....great story ...characters are well developed.

[Carter Yanulavich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doughnut King by Jessie Janowitz was an absolutely amazing book in so many way and was filled with suspense. The book start off with Tris Levin the main character moving to Petersville from New York City. Here he met a new best friend, got closer to his family, and his doughnut business was booming. But, there was one main problem with him being a kid running his business. And it is that there is nobody to make the donuts during the day because he is at school. Also, the city that he moved to has no people living there because they all move out and he needs to attract people by making it a main attraction. So he finally found a solution an it was the Belshaw Donut Robot but it cost $50,000 which he didn´t have. So, read the book to see if he saved the town and his business. The theme of the story is if you keep trying you will get it because at the start of the book Tris was barely making it through his store and at the end his shop was booming again. An example of a dynamic character is Tris Levin because he grows his shop by going to the cook contest and a static character is his mom because she only gave Tris his recipes to cook and was just in the background of the book.. I rated this book a 4 out of 5 because it was very suspenseful but some parts made no sense.

[Melody Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a refreshing take on a boy and his family who had moved to a small town in upstate New York. Tris, short for Tristan, and his friend Josh run a store called the Doughnut Stop in the small town of Petersville. The doughnuts are so delicious that they run out of the pastries every day and the dilemma in the book is that they are getting some bad reviews on their business website due to the fact that they can’t keep up with the demand. The boys think that the purchase of a doughnut robot, a doughnut making machine, will help to solve this problem but the price is way beyond their ability to purchase. Tris reluctantly gets an opportunity to be on the television cooking series for kids, Cut It Out, but that this might fund the robot if he wins.

This book is a great family story and it honors boys who have an interest in cooking, something outside the usual stereotypical interests found in other books. The story is very engaging, illustrates good relationships, discusses the idea of being an entrepreneur, and focuses on a small community and good community service. I think kids will really like it.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tris is back with the Donut Stop and is experiencing the ups and downs of running and growing a business. He experiences conflict and has to come up with solutions (thankfully with the help and support of family and friends)

In this adventure, Tris gets a spot on a popular kids cooking competition show (the prize money seeming the best solution to solve his business problems) and learns that one solution isn't necessarily the end-all he was looking for. The competition produces its own challenges and we get to see Tris really grow and learn as a person. He has to problem solve, face the internal struggle of how to fix your own mistakes, and deal with the consequences (not always pleasant).

Overall, Tris is a fantastic protagonist, especially for kids! I really like the real life lessons, but even more so that they're entwined with a lot of wit and funny scenes. There were plenty of times while reading aloud to my kids that I had to pause so we could all get our laughs out!

I definitely recommend the book series to both kids and adults alike (although the intended audience is definitely kids). The stories are wholesome and teach great life lessons.

Note: this book directly continues from book 1 (The Donut Fix). You definitely want to read that one first.

[Karen Gail Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve year old Tris Levine's family moved to Petersville, NY, a small town in upstate, after his father lost his banking job in New York City. Tris' mother (a chef) opened a restaurant in the unused former station house in the town (the restaurant name is also The Station House) and Tris opens a doughnut shop in the same location. Tris has a problem: he cannot make enough doughnuts to fill demands, and he begins to get unpleasant emails as a result.

Tris and his partner come up with a way to increase production by partnering with individuals in other towns, but it still does not fulfill demand. His nine year old sister enters his name for a television cooking contest in NYC, against his will. Chris asks a rich Kenyan, who also lives in upstate NY to fund a "Donut Robot" for doughnut business, but he is turned down. Then an article comes out about small towns in upstate New York gradually dying.

This is a charming book...I loved it. And I look forward to reading "The Lemonade War".