From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026

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What Members Thought

Wendy
Jan 08, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Damned if this book didn't win me over. I started it with low, low expectations, because almost every book I read about kids who just lurve to bake is so twee and so obviously written by... these books aren't aspirational, exactly; sort of the opposite. It's the same with most books for kids about art. The adults just love food and/or art and they want kids to love it, too. And cupcakes? Don't get me wrong, I patronize a cupcake shop regularly, but I was over the concept of cupcakes being the Ne ...more
Karen
I enjoyed this book so much I really need to read more by this author. Love the backdrop of the main character being a good cook but a great baker, but not being able to read or write. She just memorizes recipes from the Food Network. I worked up an appetite reading about all the different cupcakes and muffins she baked. Some of my favorite lines from the book:
- When Foster holds a cookbook she gets from the bookmobile over her heart, the librarian says, "That's where a book should be carried."
-
...more
Jen
Mar 27, 2011 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: young-adult
Foster is taken by her mother one day so quickly that she harldy has time to get any stuff packed.

Her mother has a huge bruise on her arm it turns out that she was being beaten by her boyfriend (Her husband died in the Iraq war)

They drive and drive until they get to West Virginia. It is a run-down town but Foster brightens things up with her fabulous baking. Both her and her mother meet new friends and start to find their niche in society.

However, are they entirely safe?

Another good book by Baue
...more
Lisa Nocita
Three and a half stars! It all started with an Easy Bake Oven...Foster McFee loves to cook anything, but baking her is true love. Cooking has taught her valuable skills and lessons about life. She has learned a lot from watching Chef Sonny Krull on the Food Network channel. He is a former marine, a connection to her deceased father who died in Iraq. She has dreams of being a junior celebrity chef with her own cooking show one day soon. One thing is certain, Foster can bake up a storm and her cup ...more
Susan  Dunn
Jun 04, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: ya-fiction, committee
On the run from her mom's abusive boyfriend, Foster and her mom end up in the tiny town of Culpepper. The townspeople can see that they are in trouble, so they are welcomed right from the beginning. Foster is an amazing baker, but she struggles with reading. In her old school she barely passed sixth grade, and she has developed a real phobia about trying to read anything at all. In Culpepper however, she makes friends who help her overcome her disability - and in exchange she feeds them cupcakes ...more
Alison
Good solid fun for girls who like their romance light and their content squeaky-clean. A quirky cast peoples this fun small-town story about a girl and her mother who are trying to get back on their feet after fleeing mom's abusive ex-boyfriend. Foster has noteworthy talents for both baking and business and day-dreams constantly about being the host of her own cooking show. Reading from actual cookbooks, though, is not an option, as Foster finds it almost impossible to deciper the words on a pag ...more
Ann
Jul 23, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Delightful. Foster is a warm, wonderful, character brought to life by the reliably able.Joan Bauer. Easy to recommend to readers who like thoughtful
but more upbeat contemporary stories.
Jess
Feb 24, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Pretty typical Bauer book although with a younger than usual heroine.
Sarah
Apr 11, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: middle-grades
Wonderful realistic fiction novel about a girl and her mom trying to find their way out of a difficult past: a father/husband who has died in the Iraq war, and an ex-boyfriend who has been abusive. We meet them when they're on the run and quickly become drawn into their problems. Colorful characters such as a has-been movie star and a small southern town setting make a good backdrop for their story, which is interspersed with baking tips and recipes. Can the perfect cupcake make dreams come true ...more
Jennifer
I loved this book and breezed through it. The characters came alive and the cupcakes all sound amazing. There was probably a little too much going on with all the different plot threads, but I loved the people so much that I didn't care. Culpepper is such a fantastic town for Foster and Rayka to land in and I wish I could visit there myself. I really need to read more of Joan Bauer's books because everything I've read so far, I've greatly enjoyed. ...more
Marie
May 07, 2014 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Such a cute story
Crystal
Schneider Family Book Award 2012 - great story! Loved it.
Rachel
Sep 14, 2010 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
CLM
Feb 19, 2011 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: childrensbooks
Jodi
Mar 07, 2011 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Sarah
May 10, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: childrens
Mary
Dec 02, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Kristen
Dec 08, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Kathryn
Jan 09, 2012 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: ya
Amy
Jan 26, 2012 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Ann-Marie
Feb 28, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Tara
Mar 29, 2012 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Leslie
Jan 30, 2013 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: middlegrade
Sondra Eklund
Apr 14, 2013 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: box-b4
Jan
Apr 26, 2013 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
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