A Long Line of Cakes

'A Long Line of Cakes' by Deborah Wiles, set in a comfortably cozy town where everyone knows each other, captures the true meaning of finding yourself and the friendships that come along the way. Emma Lane Cake has moved to town with her parents, five brothers, and four dogs so that her family can open up a new bakery. They move from town to town doing just this, and Emma, while she makes friends everywhere she goes, has decided that it isn't worth doing it again, lest she be hurt by losing any new friends she does make when her parents decide to move yet again.

Emma's plan is not as easy as she thought, for when she meets Ruby Lavender, she has trouble keeping her promise to herself. A new friendship seems in the cards, but she holds back on giving of herself completely, as her fear of being hurt by loss causes her to succumb to uncertainty over whether she should even bother getting to know Ruby.

While it was a bit hard to follow who each character was in as much detail as some readers might like, especially with the Cake kids who all had such long and involved names, the kindness found within the setting of Aurora County helps to offset this. Even though there are lots of people who aren't necessarily explained in thorough enough detail in this book, readers who have read past books in this series will likely be more familiar with the characters and setting.

With Ruby's help, Emma Lane Cake learns what friendship can be, and they work together to help Emma keep her parents from doing the thing she hates most - moving and taking her from everything she knows and loves.