Have you ever read a book when you were little, and absolutely loved it, but then when you go back and try to read it again when you're a little bit older, and it's not as good as you remember it being? Yeah, that's what happened for me with It's Raining Cupcakes.
I'm pretty sure that I got It's Raining Cupcakes for my birthday one year, and I remember reading it straight away and absolutely loving it. I used to be really into cooking and baking. I still am, just not as much. I also used to really want to become a chef/baker (now I'm leaning more towards becoming an editor/publisher/author). So, reading a book about baking and opening up a cupcake shop, was mesmerizing to me. It made me want to pursue baking and cooking even more than I already did. At the back of the book there are cupcake recipes that are mentioned in the book, and I remember loving making them, and knowing that I was making the same cupcakes that Isabel and her mom were making in the story.
It's Raining Cupcakes is a book about a girl named Isabel who lives in a very small town in Oregon. She's never left, and she would do pretty much anything to go somewhere other than where she is. So, when she gets the chance to possibly go to New York through a baking competition, she jumps at the chance. However, with her mom opening up her own new cupcake shop, she's not getting to make what she wants to make for the competition. Her mom wants her to make cupcakes, but she wants to make something a little bit different.
As you can tell, this book is more of a middle-grade, children's book. Like I said, when I was little I loved It's Raining Cupcakes. However, when I picked it up this time, I wasn't as wowed by it. Sure, it was the same story, but it just wasn't as interesting anymore. The writing wasn't that good, and it felt like it was written for little children, who wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between good writing and bad writing. Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst writing I've ever read, but it definitely could have been better. With me being sixteen, I've read books from amazing authors, that could write about anything and their writing style and use of words would make me want to read it. Lisa Schroeder's writing just didn't have that same effect on me.
I know that a lot of this critisism isn't going to be that surprising, as this is a children's book, but some children, or middle grade novels are really well written and do have interesting storylines. This just unfortunately isn't one of them for me anymore. I do have some books that I read when I was little, that I will still read and enjoy to this day, It's Raining Cupcakes is not one. I find this kind of funny, because in my very first blog post ever, I said that I could never get bored of this book, but here I am saying that I've gotten bored of it.
I read It's Raining Cupcakes in probably just over an hour, because it's less than 200 pages, and honestly, I don't think that it was a complete waste of my time, because yes I did enjoy the storyline still, and I did enjoy the baking aspects, but I don't think I will be reading this one again. At least not for a while. I would however like to check out some of Lisa Schroeder's YA books, because I'd like to see if they would change my opinion of her as a writer.
Lisa Schroeder is the author of over a dozen books for kids and teens, including the YA novels I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and ALL WE HAVE IS NOW and the middle grade novels IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS. She loves tea and cookies, flowers, family hikes, books and movies that make her laugh and cry, and sunshine. Living in Oregon, she doesn't get nearly enough sunshine, but the hikes are amazing.
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