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Jan 08, 2012
Wendy
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011-award-possibilities
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
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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."
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- 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

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
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

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

Jun 04, 2012
Susan Dunn
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
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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
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Jul 23, 2011
Ann
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-school,
upper-elementary
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.
but more upbeat contemporary stories.

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
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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.
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Schneider Family Book Award 2012 - great story! Loved it.


Jan 09, 2011
Kathy
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
tbl-mock-newbery-2012,
tbl-mock-printz-2012


