Latifah Salom

I won this book from Read it Forward and so glad that I did! This was one of those books that I took a quick look to see where to put in in my TBR stack and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. I just love when that happens! Rosaura Douglas's dad shoots himself after being left by her mother. She ends up at the Cake House when her mother remarries a weathly man a little quickly. It's hard to believe that this is Latifah Salom's first book but I will be watching for her next one, that's for sure.… (more)

haunted by her father’s ghost and tempted both by the stepfather’s generosity and his seductive seventeen-year-old son. The Hamlet vibe is strong, but a lot of this lushly written book is about Rosaura’s struggles with her mother and her desires for stability/nice things/sex with attractive boys. As her stepfather’s high life starts to unravel, Rosaura comes more into her own; I quibbled a bit at the end but it would be plausible for a fourteen-year-old to think she’d done more than she really had to fix things.… (more)

Rosaura Douglas and her friends are making plans for the summer when her mother abruptly whisks her away from the old, cramped apartment she’s shared with her parents and takes her to the home of Claude Fisk and his son, Alex. Suddenly, everything in Rosaura’s world has changed. Her father is dead, by his own hand, people say. She has this new home, a large lumbering place that reminds her of a monstrous pink dessert.
Here is where Rosaura sees her father’s ghost . . . here is where her father died . . . here is where she now lives. Here in The Cake House.

Rosaura narrates this tale of a dysfunctional family, ultimately revealing the harsh truth of Claude’s involvement with her father, of Alex and his friends from the high school they both attend, and the lengths to which some will go to realize their own selfish dreams.

Alternately cringe-worthy and sympathetic, Rosaura’s haunting story unfolds as she navigates her way through her broken life to find her true place in the world. The harrowing narrative plays out to a largely predictable end; readers know this house of cards will tumble one day, but just how is everyone involved? The compelling, page-turning conclusion will leave readers amazed at Rosaura’s vulnerability and her strength.

Recommended.… (more)