Emma on Thin Icing

Cupcake Diaries #3

by Coco Simon

When Mia asks the girls in the club to be junior bridesmaids in her mother's wedding, everyone is superexcited about the idea...especially when they find the perfect dress for the occasion! It's Emma's dream dress, except it's a little more than she expected. And with her mom now out of a job (she's been put on furlough at the library) there's not a lot of room at the Taylor's house for extras. But not wanting to disappoint her friends, Emma decides to take on a few more jobs and chores around the house to help cover the cost. Between babysitting her bratty brother, a dog-walking business, flute practice, the Cupcake Club - and oh yeah, being a typical tween girl - Emma may have bitten off more than she can chew. Can she handle it all?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Chapter Books

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2011

About the author

Coco Simon always dreamed of opening a cupcake bakery, but she’s afraid she would eat all the profits. When she’s not daydreaming about cupcakes, Coco edits children’s books and has written close to 100 books for children, tweens, and young adults, which is a lot less than the number of cupcakes she’s eaten. Cupcake Diaries is the first time Coco has mixed her love of cupcakes with writing.

Reviews

[Patricia Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is ideal for readers who enjoy stories about balancing friendships, family challenges, and personal responsibilities with a touch of light-hearted, everyday tween drama.

🎀I'm so excited to read this one! It's been a long time since I read the 2nd book of it, and I was thinking of reading the 3rd book of my favorite childhood books. I've been on a reading slump, so I thought I'm going to revisit my favorite book so that I can enjoy reading books again!

💌The main character of this book is Emma Taylor. She has 2 brothers, and sometimes her life is pretty busy. She has friends, which are also Katie, Alexis, and Mia; together they were the Cupcake Club. They bake and sell cupcakes for different people and events. They enjoy making cupcakes, and their friendship is also strong.

🌻This story focuses only on Emma and her life. Also, the cupcake club and her friends. I like the writing of the book, and it was interesting to read. I want to read more of this series and learn more about the different POVs of each character. I really did enjoy reading this book, and it was really fun.

[Pooja Banga · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mia asks the girls in the club to be junior bridesmaids in her mother's wedding, everyone is superexcited about the idea...especially when they find the perfect dress for the occasion! It's Emma's dream dress, except it's a little more than she expected. And with her mom now out of a job (she's been put on furlough at the library) there's not a lot of room at the Taylor's house for extras. But not wanting to disappoint her friends, Emma decides to take on a few more jobs and chores around the house to help cover the cost. Between babysitting her bratty brother, a dog-walking business, flute practice, the Cupcake Club - and oh yeah, being a typical tween girl - Emma may have bitten off more than she can chew.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this a little less than the previous two, mostly because, even when I was the target age for this series, I never had any desire to be in a wedding. Emma's issues were well written and believable, though.

[Asuka Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time we'll introduced to Emma, she is the shied among the Cupcake Girls.
She never spoke her mind directly, and she always bother to cause a fuse to her family and friends. So she always keep it by herself.

Until Mia's mom's wedding that will be held in 3 weeks later, Emma, Mia, Katie and Alexis will be Junior bridesmaid, and they will choose the beautiful dress which cost them $250.

Unfortunately, Emma's family is in finance trouble, she has to afford the dress by doing some part time job, such as walking neighbourhood dog, but still, the dress cost is too high.. How she handle her trouble.

Love the frienship and the family thing " stick together is the key!"

[Rainy Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet and savory you can finish it in one go. My sister got me this book a long time ago and I just reread it. This is the third book from Cupcake Diaries series but I read it as stand alone and still as good. The book is about Emma Taylor, the member of The Cupcake Club who juggled her life between her side jobs to save money for the bridesmaid dress and managing her family by babysitting her brother. To be honest, I can really really relate to Emma so much. Even when you already have a lot on your plate, seeking help sometimes felt so difficult because you are so used to being the helper. So you don't want to burden everyone about your problems and things end up heavier than ever. But with this book, I'm glad everything works out well for Emma in the end.

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I finished Emma on Thin Icing today. It's the third story in this series. I don't like the part when she has to do a dog walking job because holding 5 leashes in each hand is ten! At one time! I would be scared and pulled around by dogs. If I had to do that I'd tie the leashes to a scooter to pull me. They made a bacon cupcake. That sounds so gross. Can we try it sometime?" -Cadee, age 8

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stressful (in a good way)

[Kaylee Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book, because Mia asks the girls in her cupcake club to be a bridesmaid in her mom's wedding. Then they all find a dress for the wedding Emma thinks that it is the perfect dress. The problem is that it cost a a little more than expected. So even if she has two jobs, a baby sitting job, and a dog walking job. Can she handle all this?

[Arwa Hamdan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really fun and exciting the best part was when she thought that her friends hate her

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and i think that it is truly amazing.I have actually read a lot of the Cupcake Club books so, this is not my first one. Even though its not a chapter book for grown ups I think that you might still enjoy it.If you are planing to read a pretty easy book that you want to enjoy,this just might be the one for you!Now lets get to the part in which i talk what this book is about.this book is about a girl named Emma who enjoys baking cupcakes and actually has a cupcake business.One day when Emma and her friends were baking cupcakes for an order,Mia(one of Emma's best friends)told everyone that her mom will be getting married!Everyone was so,so excited and happy for Mia.Then the three friends heard even better news.They were going to be the junior bridesmaids in Mia's mothers wedding!(When you read the part about Mia asking the girl if they wanted to be junior bridesmaids,you could actually be able to step in their shoes and feel the excitement!)Later on, Emma and her friends find the perfect dress for all of them.Everyone buys the dress but Emma doesn't because lately she has had many problems with money in her family.Emma thinks that she can handle buying the dress herself with no help at all.She has a brother to babysit cupcakes to bake flute practice and even a dog walking business.Can she handle it?

[Rahmawati Sa'diyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma tried to handle her problem alone. Her character as daughter reminds me of myself, "trying to handle the world on her plate". Whereas, she has family, friends, and good people around her.

I mean, her problem as a teenager still relates to us. So, I recommend Emma's story to your to-be-read book list🧁💕 Read it with the bacon cupcakes will be more delicious🤤

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma gets in over her head when she overextends herself and doesn’t feel she can ask for help. The final result is that she realizes that she should let people into what’s going on and ask for (and also accept!) help from others.
The attitude is not surprising, and it’s actually nice to see it addressed in a book aimed at young girls, and for the most part I liked how it resolved, plain fact that it wrapped up so very perfectly came across kind of flat. First of all, she was able to bake, cool, frost, and deliver 4 dozen cupcakes in the span of about 4 hours? Everyone (except Sydney, of course) was sympathetic and understanding and so very, very kind, the worst of the consequences from her parents was that she had to cut back on dog walking, and it would have been nice to see follow up from her parents about the matter, considering that part of her reticence came from understanding so well that their family had financial concerns. Her mom did say that she would figure out how to pay for the dress, and as a parent it would be important to have my kids understand that even while pinching pennies, parents have more resources and ability to help in this regard than their tween kids all by themselves. I did think the brothers pitching in and helping was a particularly cool choice, reinforcing the idea that families stick together, even when they don’t always get along.

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first exposure to The Cupcake Diaries series and I really enjoyed reading this third installment. I think it will have a narrow audience strictly girl appeal.

This new story focuses on Emma, whom I really liked and wanted to help her. The family of six is struggling with Mom’s new work hours. Everybody, including Emma’s two older brothers, have to help out, mainly with little brother Jake. Emma herself juggles increased family responsibilities with friendships, her commitment to the Cupcake Club, when she is asked to be a junior bridesmaid and learns the dress costs 250.00, her life becomes rather complicated. She takes on too much responsibility with after school jobs along with her turns in watching her rather difficult little brother Jake. When her parents realize she is not making Jake her first priority, they make her give up the jobs. Now she has no way to buy the dress. Unfortunately, Emma decides NOT to share her troubles with anyone, but it does come to light as things often do, to her consternation yet relief.

Emma learns that it’s the difficult times when the true value of friendship and family are revealed.

It should be enjoyed by any girl who loves weddings, pink, entrepreneurship, and, of course, cupcakes.

I love the illustrations. They look like the bright and expressive comic books I used to read many moons ago.

[L'Abri des Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le Tome le plus stressant jusqu'à maintenant ! J'adore Emma et j'aime de plus en plus Alex, qui est apparemment très proche d'Emma. Mais alors sa vie quel stress !! Ma lecture me donne des noeuds à l'estomac 😅 Malheureusement c'est ce qui fait que c'est celui que j'aime le moins des 3. Ce qui arrive à Emma est très touchant car ça peut arriver à n'importe qui (spoiler alert : tout ce qui parle d'argent m'angoisse..). Mais son petit frère Jake j'ai envie de le claquer aussi, je la comprends 😂

Emma est une petite fille intelligente mais qui ne fait pas attention à son équilibre à elle. Trop c'est trop, se reposer pour recharger les batteries est vital. Son objectif l'aveugle, sa gêne et sa peur d'être un boulet l'empêchent de parler. Elle craque et elle se met tout le monde à dos par son mutisme.

C'est du Jeunesse donc forcément tout se termine bien, avec une belle morale. Ça donne la patate même après avoir traversé le désert avec Emma. L'union, la famille, l'amitié, c'est une saga à consommer sans modération 💖

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-xuaq7BiEH/

[Manda Marigold · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book's central focus is Emma. Emma is a tween who makes her spending money as a dog walker and a part of the cupcake club. When Mia's mom invites all four girls to be junior bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding, the girls go dress shopping together. Emma begins to get anxious about how expensive the dress will be. Emma's responsibilities become too overwhelming, but she will do anything to keep her chances at extra income. Emma has two expenses, a bridesmaid dress and a mixer. Emma is struggling to keep up, but she keeps piling more on. Will Emma realize she is spreading herself too thin and learn to lean on her friends and family before it is too late? Overall, this is a cute book. I enjoyed that this book was from Emma's perspective. This writing style gives the stories in the series variety. The cupcakes sound delicious.

[Ian Hrabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I like about this one is it highlights the absolute insanity of wedding culture. The central conflict is one of the girls is in a low-income situation and gets invited to be a junior bridesmaid and it’s all anxiety about how to pay for The dress. Like I’m talking she thinks she’s gonna have to use the money she’s been saving for a Kitchen-aid Mixer to buy this stupid dress. Jenny was in a wedding when we were SUPER broke and I never forgot the absolute stress I felt when she said she had to spend $350 on a bridesmaid’s dress. If you’re doing one of those $30,000 weddings it should come out of that full stop. Asking your friends to blow that kind of money on a dress they’ll wear once, gimme a break. Anyway, I IDed with the conflict here pretty hard.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book three focuses on Emma Taylor, the super-organized and always dependable member of the Cupcake Club. But Emma has more on her plate than she’s really capable of handling, and she feels unable to share her difficulties with anyone, including her parents, siblings and friends.

Another, quick read and a great way to absorb some life lessons for the tween set. I’ll probably read one more, just so I get the full picture of the foursome who make up the club. I would definitely recommend this series for the target age group.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mia has a lot to do she takes care of her brother, cleans, cooks, studies for tests, plays trumpet, and even has time to be in a cupcake club. She and her friends are going to be junior bridesmaids but, she doesn't want to ask for money. She thinks she can find a dress cheap but, ends up finding a dress expensive and everyone gets it. She puts it on hold and tries so hard to make money to pay it............................

[Fathimah Azzahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg I almost crying when I read this book! it might be a children's book or a middle-grade, but the moral messages that this book has deserve to get a 5-star rating. I genuinely recommend this book for those who wants to read a short book and also easy but has a good plot and memorable! (because this book explicitly show us a lot of lovely things that connected with friendship, family, relationship with brothers, etc.)

[Suzanne Warr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little story with all the drama a wedding can bring, plus money worries and big responsibilities. Also, cupcakes that will make you drool...and maybe even hunt down a maple bacon recipe, like I did! Find that link plus my full thoughts on the book and the cat's two cents on my blog, and happy reading!

[Nangsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book without reading the others in the series, and I think its pretty solid for a stand-alone. When I was younger, a lot of Emma's issues were understandable and I still admire the overall message of the story. A sweet, short story on friendship, family, and overcoming hardships. Oh a lots of cupcakes.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic read! Love how the book is so close to reality and not at all talking down. One can learn a lot of good values from this series.

Especially enjoyed this story as the conflicts are very realistically portrayed and resolved. it ended, as usual, with a warm fuzzy feeling, in me.

[Lilly B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had fun it was funny. The first thing that happened was Emma tried to make cupcakes, dog waking, school, and she had to baby sit her brother. It is like me because I have to watch my brothers so they don't fight, clean, chores, and dishes it is crazy.

[Mia]

I think this is such a great read! Perfect for young girls any age from, I'd say, 8 - 14. Yes, some slightly more mature 8 and 9 year olds will enjoy reading this, too! I've read the whole series myself, and it is amazing! Great read for all the middle-grade girls struggling with tween drama.

[lire.des_livres · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’aime beaucoup le perso d’Emma et les sujets abordés sont intéressants. Jake ne vas pas rester longtemps vivant s’il continue à m’agacer comme ça par contre 😂. Sinon, toujours le même ressenti que pour les autres

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for these books because I grew up in a similar fashion. While listening to them with my family I realized the issues are forced a bit and not issues that all kids experience as real problems.

[Kathryn Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorites in the 32 book series. It teaches about that it’s ok for help even when you don’t want it, and that friends will always support you. Emma is my favorite character in the 4 person franchise and really gives good life lessons

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book because it has a main and important problem trough out the story and only got solved at the end with a surprise. So I think it's really fun to read, so if you liked realistic, you would probably like this book.

[Jen Bury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really liked this one in it's message of learning to manage life, with all the good things available to us, and asking for help when needed. A lot of kid books take parent's out of the problem solving process completely, but this gives a realistic placement for them!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the three books I've read so far in the series. I'll probably only read Alexis' book and then stop.