July 11, 2011
This debut installment of the Cupcakes Diaries covers familiar turf. On the first day of middle school, Katie's best friend Callie snubs her for the "Popular Girls Club." Hurt but resilient, Katie bonds with stylish Mia, who has just moved to town from Manhattan; shy Emma; and down-to-earth Alexis. When Katie's overprotective, "cupcake crazy" mother (who, yes, calls her "Cupcake") senses that her daughter has had a rough day she proposes a "cupcake cure" and the two bake a batch, which Katie shares with her new pals. Katie, an affable narrator, asserts that middle school "got a little bit easier" after she and her friends form the Cupcake Club and bake together on weekends. At a school fundraiser, Katie and crew sell cupcakes (competing with Callie and her cronies, who hawk disastrous makeovers), and win the prize. "It was like the sweet icing on top of a delicious cupcake," gushes Katie, whose reconciliation with Callie caps this breezy, predictable middle-grade story. Mia in the Mix pubs simultaneously. Ages 8â12.
May 1, 2011
Grades 4-6 Katie spends the summer before middle school blissfully unconcerned about the impending transition. Her first school day delivers a jolt when she realizes that her best friend has abandoned her for the newly formed Popular Girls Club, but Katie quickly befriends Mia, Emma, and Alexis. The four girls bond over lunch and soon form the Cupcake Club. After a bake sale and her first dance, Katie finds that she may enjoy middle school after all. Katie makes an appealing figure as she navigates the difficulties of finding her way, literally and figuratively, in her new school. She and her supportive (if somewhat overprotective) single mother are recognizable, believable characters, and Katies middle school will seem like familiar territory to many readers. Though Katie narrates the first volume in the Cupcake Diaries, evidently Mia will narrate the next book in the series. The ease with which troubles are overcome makes this a light, pleasant choice for tweens.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2014
In these lighthearted episodes, BFFs Katie, Mia, Emma, and Alexis--the Cupcake Club--narrate their own stories. The books revolve around their baking business, but friendship, family, and middle-school challenges are explored. The girls' range of backgrounds and family situations allows more opportunity for readers to find a protagonist with whom they most identify in this sweet, accessible series.
(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)