Celebrate National Cake Pop Day!

Happy National Cake Pop Day!

Making cake pops are not as easy as you may think. There are steps often left out of recipes such as you need to make or buy a cake first! But cake pops are also a cultural phenomena. They were created and named by Angie Dudley, Bakerella, in 2008 and have taken off from there. I have made them and enjoyed them.

Today though instead of giving you a recipe, I want to share a book where cake pops play a central role in the story. Cake Pop Crush is a YA (Young Adult) novel by Suzanne Nelson and published by Scholastic, Inc., in 2013. I got it wish some points after buying Kellogg's products for my household last year.  Without spoiling the plot, I want to review the book for you.

The book ends with a description of how to use a box mix to make cake pops as well as three other recipes that appear in the story as part of the plot so you make the cake and frosting from scratch like our main character. Two of these use cocoa powder -- "Red Velvet Mocha Fudge Pops" and "Black Forest Heart Pops." Not every recipe in the book is given for you to try out.

Alicia Ramirez is the main character in this novel. Her family owns and runs a bakery in town, Say It With Flour. Even though it seems like it might be the only bakery/coffee shop in town, it is struggling to stay afloat. We learn in the story that this might be related to grief over the death of Alicia's mother several years before. But things turn worse with a chain coffee and bakery shop open up right across the street.

Alicia's dealing with her friends and her family felt real but what really didn't was the romantic element. Maybe I'm showing my age, but for 8th graders these folks acted a lot more like high schoolers. The rival as potential love interest felt too much like the tropes of romance novels for adults. This is salvaged a bit by the story using Alicia's friends to demonstrate that that healthy romantic relationships develop from common interests not conflict. Eventually, Alicia herself learns that lesson, too.

The competition between local businesses and massive chains was also realistic though I'm not sure a big wig would invest so much personal time in a small community. If this were an adult romance, we'd expect the bad boy to turn good from a desire to be with our main female lead, here the son, Dane, turns out to be a good guy from the start. Alicia's difficulty in seeing Dane as something more than a business rival reflects her family's struggles economically.

The build up to a big competition that could save the Ramirez family business is decently paced but the conclusion felt rushed. We are told all sort of good things are on the horizon but we don't see most of them as the story turns to the 8th grade romance instead as the finale. Is that really the message we should be sending to girls and boys?

That said, I did like the book and while I'm wary of encouraging unhealthy romantic ideals, I think the message of business savvy, learning to trust yourself, and the power of friendship makes it a good read.

Cake Pop Crush is the first book in of a series of food themed books by Suzanne Nelson. The Wish Series is set in different American cities with teen girl leads from diverse backgrounds.