Frosting and Friendship (It's Raining Cupcakes #3)

Gr 4-8—Whoever coined the saying "as easy as pie" had apparently never met Lily Hubbard. Gourmet desserts, band rehearsals, Spring Fling auditions, homework, and much more keep the 12-year-old busy. Juggling all of these commitments turns disastrous when Lily agrees to host a surprise birthday party for a close friend, Sophie, who attends a different school. To impress Sophie's new friends, and despite her past kitchen disasters, Lily agrees to bake a decadent dessert for the celebration. She soon finds herself covered in flour and ditching her band to practice her baking skills. In the end, she must come clean about who she is, deciding if baking or singing is more important. Schroeder's realistic dialogue and depiction of daily dramas show her strong grasp of middle-school life. The combination of baking and bands will initially attract many girls, but it's the short chapters and simple diction that keep the plot cooking. Readers will be drawn to the well-delineated, quirky Lily. They'll empathize with her, ponder her dilemmas, and cheer her on to make the right decisions. The sugary sweet message that you must be yourself to create authentic friendships is not grasped by Lily until the final chapter, allowing readers to discover this message independently.—Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UT