Book Review: Practice Cake
Media Type: Digital Book
Title: Practice Cake
Author: Dalya Moon
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: Ebook; 175
Release Date: October 20, 2011
Source: Author
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Intended Reading Group: Young Adult
Content Screening: No more than mild flirting!
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HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Readers who love a strong and beautifully flawed teenager character.
Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon
There’s one thing Maddie finds more tempting than red velvet cake: her coworker, Drew. All it takes is one of his sly winks or a playful hip-check by the cooler, and she’s incinerating the cookies. Her boyfriend would not approve.
When a reality TV crew descends upon the bakery, her simple summer job gets even more complicated. Maddie could become the Bakery Network’s next breakout star, if she can handle the heat of being cast as a show villain. Drew has an alternate idea: run away from everything, with him and his sexy tousled hair. She decides to take the leap, but when she finds out Drew’s been hiding a shocking secret, Maddie looks down at her packed suitcase and takes a moment to think. Should she fly off to Australia with a guy she hardly knows, or should she pick up her suitcase and hit him with it?
I hereby profess my love for Maddie, the lovable protagonist of Practice Cake. See Maddie isn’t sure where her life is taking her, but she does know that for now baking is something she really enjoys doing. Being around all those gorgeous cakes and pastries is pure heaven. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that her coworker is rather yummy himself! Never mind the fact that her current boyfriend thinks it’s a waste of time. What does he know? Maddie is a teenage girl at her best and worst, all at the same time. She’s perfectly flawed, hilariously honest, and I loved every minute of reading about her struggle to just figure herself out.
The people who drift in and out of her life really craft the person Maddie is, and I can’t explain enough how fantastic it all is. You’ll just have to read for yourself. Maddie and her friends are constantly bickering and joking. Their personalities shine off the page. There isn’t a single character in Practice Cake who isn’t given the same love and attention as Maddie herself. They are all well formed and wonderfully flawed themselves. Jealousy, pettiness, it’s all there in black and white.
My favorite part overall though? The humor! Let me share with you one of my favorite quotes from the book. Jaslene and Maddie have some great conversations, but this one made me giggle out loud.
Jaslene was already twirling one of her long, dark ringlets and reading an article titled, Ten Things Your Guy Really Wants.
I pointed to the magazine, and said to Jaslene, “The answer is nine dumb girls and a double-bacon cheeseburger.”
It’s really the honesty in this book that allowed me to be so immersed in it. As I mentioned above, Dalya Moon gives her all her characters flaws. It makes them so much more realistic. Whether it’s a hot boy, a best friend, or a popular girl turned mother, each character has their personality that shines off the page. I fell in love with each an every one of them, even as they drove me crazy with their decisions. Maddie learns a lot in this book, and it’s all thanks to the author who allowed her to be so honest with the reader. Thanks for that Dalya!
So as you can plainly tell, I adored this book! One of my favorite things about discovering a particularly delicious self-published book, is that I get to scream it’s praises to you, my dear followers. Practice Cake and Dalya Moon definitely fall into this category. I ate this book up. Great characters, fantastic story line, ample humor, it’s all there! If you are looking for something light, sweet, but with a purpose, welcome to your next read.
FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.
