Most kids would dread the start of middle school and the year-long Explorations project that comes with it, but Ana knows that her + her best friend Lily + their plan to write and sell their own cookbook is a recipe for success. Lilyâs not just the perfect partner in culinary crimeâsheâs also the only person in the world who understands Anaâs need to wash her hands five times before picking up a spatula, and would never make fun of her for it.
But Ana and Lilyâs plan for edible entrepreneurship turns into one big baking disaster when theyâre assigned to different partners for their projects. As if it wasnât bad enough that Lily seems more excited to get to know her new partner than bummed about being separated, Lily and her new friend plan to use the cookbook idea for themselvesâand they didnât even ask! Worse, Anaâs partner is Dasher, the strange new girl from Alaska, and she wants to do their project on the weirdest thing imaginable: sled dog racing.
Dasherâs dogs are scary, slobbery, and decidedly not germ-free, but Ana thinks sheâs found a loophole when she agrees to bake pancakes for spectators while Dasher mushes in a local race. That is, until Dasher sprains her ankle and has to drop out of the running. Can Ana learn to mushâand overcome her anxietyâin time to save her friendships, finish her project, and compete in the big race?