Middle grade cupcake novel Confectionately Yours by Lisa Papademetriou

Today on bookstore shelves there's a new addition to the middle grade children's fiction world of cupcake-themed novels, with Confectionately Yours: Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou. It's about Hayley, a 7th grader who loves making cupcakes, and she makes some very creative ones, and friendship, and popularity, and how growing up can tear old friends apart (and bring them back together). It even covers gluten-free cupcakes, and has a side plot about a girl being ignore and sometimes made fun of for not being able to eat gluten (not to worry, she's a feisty, strong character, and Hayley surprises her by making her a gluten-free cupcake and concludes that it's pretty easy to do!). I enjoyed the book and felt like it was realistic, touching on things like Hayley's mom looking for a job (they've moved back in with Hayley's grandmother while she searches), her sister's invisible friend, the general ups and downs of middle school and how cupcakes can brighten someone's day.

The book also has recipes for various cupcakes: Spicy Mexican Chocolate "Hotheads" (they use cayenne pepper and are filled with chocolate ganache), Shoot the Moon cupcakes (with green tea frosting), Apple cupcakes, French Toast cupcakes, Heartsick Puppies (you have to read the book), Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, Freak-Outs (chocolate cupcakes with 8 cloves of garlic in them!). It's also available as a Kindle ebook. Book two in the series is called Confectionately Yours: Taking the Cake! and will be out in September.