A boy meets girl, girl has mystical powers, everyone in the backwards little Southern town hates her because she’s different story. The book has a bit of a spooky feel that might be a little much for younger readers though it never gets gory or TOO scary. This wouldn’t be a bad introduction to the supernatural/horror writing genre for younger readers.

While not a bad book it feels a little too… sanitized. The cruelty of cheerleaders and debutantes (and their parents) towards an ‘outsider’ just didn’t seem all that cruel. Most of it’s laughable grammar school name calling and shunning. There’s one fight between jocks, it’s a push, a shove, someone falls… and then it’s over. Nobody acts out, sasses or talks back to their parents or teachers. No one even swears. They just don’t feel like real teenagers.

The writing is decent the characters are well developed and fairly well rounded though towards the end they seem to get a little stupid just to fit into the plot. Not exceptional but worth reading.

Three Stars

More hit than miss. The comics are, for the most part, amusing. A couple
had me chuckling out loud but a few left me flat. The art is acceptable
but not thrilling, it gets the point across and stops there. The
situations and scenarios are believable a little too politically correct
and occasionally drag the punch line out over a few too many strips
(most notably Petey’s recital which took forever to resolve).
Light-hearted, without being sappy it’s a good comic for kids, adults
will surely like it too.

Four (deserves 3.5) Stars

To the Point:
A must have for fans of the show ‘Ace of Cakes’.

The Good:
Well written and entertaining the book covers more details than (just about) anyone could ever ask for. Everyone, even the Porter and the TV crew, gets his or her own fifteen minutes of fame. We find out where everyone came from and how they got their start at Charm City Cakes. The book is crammed full of behind the scenes pictures as well as old family photos of the cast growing up and shots of cakes that never made it onto the show.

The Not So Good:
The font the majority of the printing is done in is rather small. On the darker pages I sometimes found it hard, though not impossible, to read. An abundance of collages. I’d rather have had fewer but larger pictures to look at. Several subjects, most notably viewer complaints of the cast not washing their hands and gossip that the cakes may look great but can’t/don’t taste good are touched on repeatedly.

Finally:
If you like the show chances are you’ll enjoy the book.

Four Stars

While the author claims he’s just pro dog and not anti cat some of the writing about cats might seem a little harsh to cat fanciers. But it does, in the end, come across mostly tongue in cheek and humorous as well as covering some of the frightening statistics about shelter and feral animals. You can tell that Bradley Trevor Greive is truly an animal lover and he really, really likes dogs.

The photography is exceptional, absolutely fantastic. Though mostly posed for the shot almost all the images feel completely natural and candid. Many, though I don’t recommend dismantling the book, are suitable for framing. Rachael Hale is a master of her craft.

The book itself has, under the dust jacket, a rather handsome patterned and embossed cover. Even the title on the spine is embossed. The end leaves are also unique. It’s printed on very heavy glossy stock (the book weighs a ton!) the photographs are all crisp and clear and the text, though there isn’t a lot of it, is easy to read.

My one complaint would be the myriad footnotes are all collected in the back of the book so you’re frequently having to flip to the end to see what’s what.

Four Stars