Former "bad girl" Cyd Charisse moves to New York City to live with her half-brother Danny while exploring career options (barista and cupcake baker) and various relationships, including the one with Shrimp, who is surfing in New Zealand. (BCCLS) ( )

The more I read Cohn, the more I like her. Her writing style is absolutely spot-on with the way teens speak and think and feel these days (at least it seems that way to me; I don't think I'm too far displaced from my teenage years to make this call). I read the first book about Cyd Charisse, aka CC, back when I first started working at the bookstore and I enjoyed it well enough. I didn't read the next book but when this one showed up on our shelves, I couldn't resist it. I don't feel like I missed out on a ton of important stuff by not reading the middle book, which is really good. This one tells the story of CC's move to Manhattan and her new life there and the inevitable interruption by her true love, Shrimp. CC is just a wonderful character; in some ways she's the really cool and individual teenage girl I wish I had been in high school. I think Cohn is an important author for teen girls because she deals with real life heavy issues but not in a preachy or scary way; sometimes she's a bit like the movie "Juno" on paper. I just really enjoy the way she phrases the inner workings of a teenage girl. ( )

This is the last book in the series of books "Gingerbread". Cyd Charisse is finally out of the house, graduated from school, and living with her brother in New York City. On her own, she learns how hard it actually is to live life by yourself, and also how hard it is to live life without her highschool sweetheart Shrimp. Once reunited with him, she realizes what she now wants in life. ( )

Lack of Helen was the main flaw in Cupcake which finds Cyd living in New York with her brother Danny. I also really missed her little brother and sister as well as Sid-Dad. The new characters of Mold and Max are great and this book will make you crave cupcakes like NO ONE'S business. I had to make a special batch just to meet my cravings. (FYI-- devils food cupcakes with mocha buttercream frosting? Both from How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food? Simply divine!)

see all my reviews at: http://www.tushuguan.blogspot.com ( )

Defiantly not a book on cooking! Let's join our heroine CC as she embarks on the road to adult hood. Fresh from high school CC decides to chase her dreams and move to Manhattan to live with her brother. Only problem is that it is harder to let go of her first love then she imagined. CC learns that life isn't what you dream it to be but what you make it to be. Along the way she discovers her true family in life and what it means to truly be yourself.

I will admit at first I wasn't very enthusiastic about reading this book. The first couple chapters were very hard to follow because the main character, CC was very adolescent in her views and vocabulary, almost like the writer was trying too hard to make her seem like a 18 year old. As the pages turn and you learned more of the characters it became clearer that the writing was not forced but intentional in order for you to see CC's growth as a person and how she was maturing in thought and personality; which made the book more rich and enjoyable.

I enjoyed the odd characters like Max and Mold; whom I would imagine to be actual people living in a town like New York. I couldn't help become attached to the characters and feel the love, happiness and sadness as life took it's hold on all of them. The book ended well and I got a good happy feeling out of my experiences with it. So I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes "journey of life" stories. ( )