Gingerbread

Reader reviewed by Rachel Connell

Cyd Charisse has never known her biological father but when her step dad and mother find out she was out late with her boyfriend. Once there she meets her step sister who she has confrontations with and bits of information slip. Her stepbrother is a whole different story. Gay and owning a coffee shop she starts working with him as a barrista. The few short talks that she has with her father teaches her about both families.
This is a great teen girl novel. You fall in love with the quirky,  intelligent, and rebellious Cyd instantly.

Reader reviewed by Meg

I really really enjoyed Gingerbread, probably because the narrator/main character was a bit of a punk, like I was when I was in high school. The main character is really relatable, and the plot is very entertaining. My favorite thing about the book was that you could see the main character walking in between childhood and adolescence, and sometimes she's totally childlike and othertimes she's really mature, and I feel like all teenagers walk that line, so it's really cool to see that happening in a book.

Reader reviewed by KW

This is a fresh and unusual voice in the YA world. Cyd goes through difficulties with dealing with a broken heart and an abortion. She also has to deal with her relationship with her mother.

My favorite part of the book was when Cyd reveals the abrotion and all that she's gone through and suddenly you see the vulnerable side behind this tough girl. She's humanized and sudenly her attitude makes sense. The motehr character is also very interesting and real as she deals with her own past mistakes and in trying to reach her troubled daughter.

I would recommend this novel for girls 15 and up. I think some of the topics might be a bit much for middle schoolers, but high schoolers should handle it well.

Reader reviewed by Sabrina

I have just recently read the book gingerbread and i think it was a great book.

The way it links its self back into the past to show you what she has been through really lets you know why she is the way she is.

I think its a great way to show you that you can go through hard times but still come back around. From abortion to bad relationships to parent problems and even meeting part of the family you have never met its all there.

It makes you feel lucky to have it as good as a majority of people do.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

I started the second book shrimp and am gradually finding it to be just as good as the first.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Cyd Charisse (named after the famous dancer and actress) has just gotten kicked out of boarding school, and is having trouble settling back in with her uptight family, and her boyfriend, Shrimp, suddenly wants his space. So her parents agree to send her across the country to New York City to visit with "Frank real-dad," who she's only seen once, and who gave her her beloved ragdoll christened "Gingerbread." This heartwarming story tells about true family values, no matter how spread out your family is.

Reader reviewed by Sarah

Gingerbread is about a girl named Cyd Charisse who is an illegimate love child. Her father, Frank-dad, lives in NY. Cyd Charisse lives on the other side of the ocuntry with her mom and her stepdad, Sid-dad. Cyd Charisse is not good at making friends, and her only friends are Gingerbread, the rag doll that Frank-dad bought her, an old woman named Sugar Pie, and a surfer named Shrimp. Cyd Charisse gets the chance to visit her dad in New York and is excited. She hasn't seen her dad since he got her Gingerbread years and years ago. She also has some step-siblings named Danny and Elizabeth and has fantasies of how they will bond and how she will bond with her dad, as well. But when she gets to NY things don't go as Cyd expects.

This was a good book, and it gave insight on the mind of a teenager who happens to have a lot of feelings and thoughts. The only thingg i didn't like about his book was about how Cyd Charisse was so sexually active and had a lot of intentions. Besides that, the book was good.

Reader reviewed by Ashley

it was a good book. I liked how she's named after a famous person and people don't believe her when she's tells them her name. i thoought her boyfriend didn't understand her and it was kinda weird how she still carries around a doll.

Reader reviewed by Sam

Imagine if your only friends are a doll named Ginerbread, an old lady named Sugar Pie and a boy named shrimp. Now your wisked away to a palce you've never been. You are now Cyd Charisse a teen who hates life. This book is good it dose get confusing but it gose into somethig no one would... a wild childs mind. It's realistic fiction and I liked it alot.