The Sweetest Thing

by Christina Mandelski

Overview

When it comes to cake, Sheridan Wells is a true artist. She's happiest working in the back of the family bakery, dreaming of the day her mom will keep her promise and come home. But when her dad makes an announcement that threatens to change their lives, Sheridan launches a desperate plan to find her mother before it's too late. Add to that a school art project that she can't seem to start, a moody best friend and the fact that she may or may not have been asked out by the cutest boy in school - it's a recipe for disaster. Why can't fixing your life be as easy as decorating a cake? Using just the right amount of romance, drama and humor, The Sweetest Thing will enthrall fans with its perfect mix of teen-friendly ingredients.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781515205838
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	08/07/2015
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Christina Mandelski was born a stone's throw from the Atlantic Ocean, which explains her dream of spending every day on the beach with a laptop and an endless supply of iced coffee. For now she gets by at a desk, writing about the characters that knock around in her head and reminding herself that sand in a keyboard is no fun. When not writing, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and two daughters in Houston. You can visit her online at www.christinamandelski.com

Editorial Reviews

A teen with a talent for cake decorating wrestles with love and loss in this coming-of-age story.

Sheridan Wells lives with her father, a well-known chef and restaurateur, in small-town Michigan. Her mother, a cake decorator and Sheridan's inspiration, deserted the family when Sheridan was 7. Nonetheless, Sheridan thinks about her obsessively and longs to reunite. So when her father is offered his own television cooking show and Sheridan is asked to celebrate her birthday during the first episode, she gets a crazily brilliant idea—why not track down her mother and get her to co-decorate the birthday cake? The plot is complicated by Sheridan's dueling love interests, and the author makes the risky choice of creating a central character that takes a long time to warm to. The most engaging scenes take place in the kitchen, demonstrating Sheridan's passion for the art of cooking and cake decoration, and they showcase the intrinsic rewards of a job well done. Although satisfying, the climax, which takes place on several fronts, is not as stirring as it should be.

Aimed squarely at teenage girls, this sensitive story explores the need to embrace the reality rather than the fantasy of love, both familial and romantic. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews