The Cupcake Queen

Locations
Call Number: Teen Fiction
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Penny's mother has moved to Hog's Hollow, has opened a bakery that sells only cupcakes, and she has brought Penny with her. Penny is woebegone: all her friends and her dad are in New York City; she has to help her mother in the bakery; and Hog's Hollow's resident mean girl is making her life a misery.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

sweet...pun intended. submitted by articia on December 1, 2010, 6:04pm This book was cute, but not too fluffy. it has some cheesy humor, and some serious subjects as well as touching moments. I thought it dealt well with the "family problems" and "children of separated parents" issues, but I didn't think it got as in depth as I might have liked. same with almost all the other subjects it covered. I kinda of think the author tried to bring in a few too many subjects and didn't have enough room in the 200 some page book to expand much, but I still enjoyed it. nice light read. I also like that it listed the cupcake recipes at the end of the book (always a plus)

Nice submitted by imracom on June 22, 2011, 11:27am I liked this book, but the back summary was misleading. "A decision that will change her life forever?" You'd expect it to be something bigger, but I won't give it away. But overall this was a sweet book. Not super awesome, but decent.

a light book submitted by unknown on August 18, 2013, 12:00am A light, enjoyable read. Penny moves to small town Hog's Hollow from NYC with her mother when her parents separate. Like any new kid, Penny is trying to find her place in a new town and new school. She very quickly finds that her place is NOT with the popular girls, led by Charity. A little cupcake accident at Charity's birthday party and a lifelong grudge between their mothers makes Penny the target of the local mean girls. Their little stunts are pretty amateur and fun to read - a locker full of pennies, dead fish in locker, etc. Her start in Hog's Hollow is pretty miserable. Thankfully, Penny does find a place in town. She loves working in her mom's new cupcake shop, has a close relationship with her grandmother, makes a great friend in Tally, and meets Marcus, the cute troubled boy.

Penny is a very normal girl. She doesn't have the sophistication that many books ascribe to girls from NYC. I like her normalness. She's timid but not too much; an obedient daughter but sneaky enough to investigate her parents' secrets; a good friend but unwilling to share her troubles or feelings with anyone. I loved Tally - Penny's blue-hair, artsy, animal-lover best friend. I loved her creative way of getting back at charity, her devotion to the animals at ARK, her willingness to share her problems with Penny, how she's not afraid of what people think of her. Markus is a great love interest too. Cute, smart, nice, and funny, but also struggling with his family's past.

The summary makes a big deal over a "choice" that Penny has to make regarding her family. I thought the big "to-do" was rather silly. This book is really about Penny growing up, making new friends, and adjusting to a new life. Her family's troubles seemed more like an excuse for a plot point than anything else. It was the least important part of the book for me.

All in all, this is a thoroughly pleasant read. It's nothing to write home about - in fact, two days after finishing it, I'm having some trouble remembering the book. But if you're looking for a light, enjoyable read, The Cupcake Queen certainly fits the bill.