THE TRUTH ABOUT TRIANGLES

Adventures with family, friendship, fame, and pizza.

Luca Salvatore loves his Italian American family’s pizza shop, which is in financial crisis. He’s sure that if he can get them featured on his favorite reality show, “Pizza Perfect,” the attention will save the restaurant—and his parents’ rapidly deteriorating marriage. But that’s not all on Luca’s plate. His younger twin siblings are a handful at the best of times, and their behavior escalates once Pop moves out. Luca has an all-consuming crush on Will White, a new boy at school who “looks like he might be Asian,” while trying to conceal his feelings from his spotlight-stealing best friend, June Mason, who’s cued white. Despite a formulaic plot and prose that’s overloaded with food metaphors (body like a stock pot, anxiety like uncooked calamari, bones like breadsticks) and frequent interjections of “mamma mia” and “Madone,” the tension is unrelenting. A preternaturally talented chef, Luca whips up uncommon pizza varieties like chicken piccata and arancini. Most major plot elements are resolved via heartful conversations that sometimes ring overly mature for the tweens involved. Other side issues, like Ma’s involvement in a multilevel marketing scheme, June’s role in a musical, Will’s band troubles, and Luca’s unsupportive grandmother, mix together like a lot of extra toppings.

Awfully cheesy and a little doughy but also satisfying.