Well, it’s day one of Thanksgiving break, and I’ve already finished one book. I’ve got three more on the back burner, and I hope to finish them before I return to work on Monday. (Yes, I do plan to bring a book with me to dinner at my aunts’ house tomorrow night. It’s my escape from endless questions about my job, why I’m still single, my weight, etc. Sue me.) Anyway, the book I just finished reading is The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler. It’s a fun, quick, light read that will appeal to both middle and high school female readers. It will be a hard sell for any male readers. (There are pink cupcakes on the cover.)
Penny Lane (great name) and her mother have just moved from Manhattan to Hog’s Hollow. Quite a change, yes? Penny’s parents are going through some personal stuff, Penny is torn between the two, and she doesn’t really know where she stands. Her mom won’t talk to her about what is going on, it’s hard to communicate with her dad when he’s so far away, and Penny has no one to talk to other than her grandmother. Her only solace is in making cupcakes in her mom’s new bakery, The Cupcake Queen.
Things begin to change, however, when Penny starts high school in Hog’s Hollow. Almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of the school’s “mean girl,” she makes friends with the town’s weirdest residents (who have a disturbing obsession with Rock, Paper, Scissors), and she finds a guy she kind of likes. Even though things are still rough at home, Hog’s Hollow isn’t so bad after all. Sure, she comes to school each day to find something humiliating in her locker, the mean girl, Charity, likes the same guy as Penny, and Penny is dealing with moving from the fast-paced city to laid-back country living, but she’s dealing as best she can.
After some time, Penny begins to think of Hog’s Hollow as home…just in time for her parents to drop something else on her. Will this change send Penny into a tailspin, or will she use it to find out what she really wants and how to deal with the life she has? Read Heather Hepler’s The Cupcake Queen to find out.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s not too deep, but it does have some poignant moments and teaches a couple of valuable life lessons. And, even though I’m diabetic and cupcakes are a no-no, the descriptions of the cupcakes in this book were absolutely mouth-watering.
If you would like more information about The Cupcake Queen or author Heather Hepler, I encourage you to visit http://www.heatherhepler.com/. Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Knight Reader 