The Cupcake Queen

Title: The Cupcake Queen

Place of Publication: New York, New York

Publisher: The Penguin Group

Author: Heather Hepler

Copyright date: 2009

# of pages: 242

Personal Opinion: I really enjoyed The Cupcake Queen, by Heather Hepler. It was definitely a page turner. In the book you dealt with everyday situations, like divorce, bullies, and fitting in to new surroundings. If I had to pick a book to recommend to a friend, it would definitely be The Cupcake Queen.

Book Review: Penny is a teen who is forced to leave her friends and father, to move to a boring small town named Hog's Hollow. Penny has a hard time adjusting to her new home, and doesn't want to accept the fact that she isn't going back to NYC and that her parents are really getting divorced. Everyone seems to hide things from her, her Mom, Tally and Blake (her new friends), and her secret crush, Marcus. When Penny finally is starting to get used to everything, she finds out why her mom is really going to meetings in the city, and is told to make a huge decision which could change her life.

Appeal: Mostly Girls

Popularity: 4 Stars! Great!

Quality: 4 Stars! Better than most

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Busy Bee!

Hi everyone!! I know that it has been an eternity since I have posted something other than a featured video or book review. I am normally on the computer, but then I forget to blog or I'm not sure what to talk about. I sure do love Summer, but my life is pretty bland when I'm not in school! I went to a concert last night with a couple of my friends and it was pretty cool. The only downfall was having to be around a bunch of smokers. My friends and I have a hard time being around the smoke. I am not sure why people smoke or how they do it.

A couple months ago, I started to take violin lessons with Bob Hagenbuch. So far I have had a great time! I feel like I'm learning a lot and he truely wants me to suceed. One GREAT thing about going into 7th grade is, I have strings everyday the entire school year. This will make us improve so much as a group and musicians. Also, they had key-board as an exlporatory option. Hopefully there was enough people that signed up, or else they won't have the class. I really want to have this class, because 1. I just got a key-board and 2. it will help my violin skills. But it's ok, because if I don't get this class I will get Art with Ms. Katz.

I have been watching the Olympics a bunch lately. My favorite athletes are...
-Aliya Mustafina
-Viktoria Komova
-Jordan Wieber
-Aly Raisman
-Kerri Walsh
-Tom Daley
-Sam Mikulak
-Misty May
-Michael Phelps
and more, just can't name all of 'em!

Love you all!
Lauren<3

Smile

Title: Smile

Place of Publication: New York, NY

Publisher: Graphix

Author: Raina Telgemeier

Copyright date: 2010

# of pages: 213

Personal Opinion: I really enjoyed the graphic novel, Smile! This book was a fast read, but I think I liked it mainly because the author, Raina Telgemeir, did a good job writing and illustrating. Smile was a unique book because it was a graphic novel of the author's life. I will more than likely, look into reading another graphic novel by Raina.

Book Review: Raina is like any other average girl. She deals with complicated situations like her appearance, friends, and most importantly boys. Once Raina believes that she has herself on top of things again, she suddenly is involved with a major earthquake. When reading Smile, you get to experience Raina's roller-coaster life throughout her high school years. Will Raina finally get everything figured out?

Appeal: Mostly Girls

Popularity: 4 Stars! Great!

Quality: 4 Stars! Better than most

Genre -- Please mark the appropriate box: Biography