Pie

Children’s author Sarah Weeks first published her mid-grade novel Pie in 2011. The story combines coming-of-age, mystery, and action-adventure genres as it follows 10-year-old protagonist Alice Anderson, whose beloved aunt, Polly Portman, suddenly dies in the summer of 1955. Polly’s death does not devastate Alice alone but rocks the entire village of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania. Polly’s remarkable pie shop is known throughout the nation, with Polly having won 13 straight annual Blueberry Awards for making the country’s best pie. Most of the community’s economy is centered on the pie shop, leaving citizens to wonder how to proceed financially. Making matters worse, someone vandalizes the pie shop, apparently looking for Polly’s secret piecrust recipe. Things are not going well at home for Alice, whose mother continues to harbor jealousy toward her older sister, even threatening to send the cat, Lardo, whom Polly left to Alice, to the pound. Through all her struggles, Alice’s only solace comes from her surprising new friendship with her loyal classmate Charlie.

This guide uses the Scholastic Gold 2019 paperback edition.

Plot Summary

The narrative begins in July 1955 when Polly Portman holds the hand of her niece, Alice Anderson, and thanks her in the hours before Polly dies.