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The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery, and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends.
The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details:
Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared.
And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails.
And even her latest comic-book creation is misbehaving.
Also, the world might be ending – which is proving to be awkward.
As Doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.
The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details:
Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared.
And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails.
And even her latest comic-book creation is misbehaving.
Also, the world might be ending – which is proving to be awkward.
As Doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.
295 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
24 people are currently reading
3028 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Keil
14 books409 followersMelissa Keil was born in Melbourne, Australia, and has been a giant book nerd for as long as she can remember. She studied Cinema and Anthropology at university, and then spent a few years dabbling in graduate study, including Professional Writing and Editing. In between she has been a high school teacher, Middle Eastern tour guide, waitress, community theatre dogsbody, and IT help desk person. Now, by day, she is a children’s book editor, and spends the rest of her time watching Star Wars content and wrangling a cheeky spoodle named Hugo. Her debut YA novel, Life in Outer Space, was the winner of the 2013 Ampersand Project and the 2014 Ena Noël award. Her subsequent YA novels, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl and The Secret Science of Magic, are out now. She is also the author of the Barkly Mansion junior fiction series with illustrator Adele K Thomas. Her books have been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year award, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award and the Gold Inky, and have been published around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
June 30, 2015
See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
I went from start to finish with a grin on my face when reading this. Yep, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl (gosh that's a mouthful) is one of those feel good contemporary reads. If that hasn't sold you, I know exactly what will: IT'S AUSSIE YA! Clearly you need to read it now, yes?
And to all of those who are going 'nope' because they think they're oh-so-fabulous (but deep down have already got their money out ready to buy a copy), let me persuade you by showcasing some more major selling points.
- It's written in this seriously awesome, laid-back style. The main character is literally telling us her story TO US, guys. 1) It makes the reader feel included and 2) you don't get this a lot, so the narrative was really refreshing. I certainly kept me turning the pages. Perhaps this style won't work for everyone, but I loved it.
- Every character has the utmost detail. No character is wasted here, folks. Each and every single one of these characters had a lot of depth and personality. It's definitely one of the highlights in this book, because it's like they're all your BEST FRIENDS. Well...maybe not Daniel. Blurgh, I'm so-so about that guy, but that was probably the author's intention.
- There's no love-triangle, contrary to what the synopsis might suggest at first. I mean, I totally freaked when I read the synopsis--it's never a good sign when it mentions two different guys. Basically, LOVE TRIANGLE ALERT. But nope, this IS NOT THE CASE here. We have platonic girl-boy relationships and well...we have a beautiful romance too. YOU'LL SHIP IT GUYS, I promise. I certainly jumped aboard the second I cracked open this book--no exaggeration. It's a very sweet, slow build up, and I approve of it so very much. *nods*
- It's set in Melbourne! So it was awesome before the story was even written, clearly.
- COMICS. Alba here is quite into them, draws them, so if you like comics, well THEN YOU PRACTICALLY NEEDED THIS BOOK LIKE, YESTERDAY. But no seriously, I really loved this aspect despite not being a comic fan myself, and how it was incorporated into the novel.
In all, I really enjoyed this book (if you couldn't tell), the characters were all spot on, the romance was so genuine and just boootiful and well, JUST READ IT! If you loved Life in Outer Space, then there's no doubt that you'll fall in love with this one too.
I went from start to finish with a grin on my face when reading this. Yep, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl (gosh that's a mouthful) is one of those feel good contemporary reads. If that hasn't sold you, I know exactly what will: IT'S AUSSIE YA! Clearly you need to read it now, yes?
And to all of those who are going 'nope' because they think they're oh-so-fabulous (but deep down have already got their money out ready to buy a copy), let me persuade you by showcasing some more major selling points.
- It's written in this seriously awesome, laid-back style. The main character is literally telling us her story TO US, guys. 1) It makes the reader feel included and 2) you don't get this a lot, so the narrative was really refreshing. I certainly kept me turning the pages. Perhaps this style won't work for everyone, but I loved it.
- Every character has the utmost detail. No character is wasted here, folks. Each and every single one of these characters had a lot of depth and personality. It's definitely one of the highlights in this book, because it's like they're all your BEST FRIENDS. Well...maybe not Daniel. Blurgh, I'm so-so about that guy, but that was probably the author's intention.
- There's no love-triangle, contrary to what the synopsis might suggest at first. I mean, I totally freaked when I read the synopsis--it's never a good sign when it mentions two different guys. Basically, LOVE TRIANGLE ALERT. But nope, this IS NOT THE CASE here. We have platonic girl-boy relationships and well...we have a beautiful romance too. YOU'LL SHIP IT GUYS, I promise. I certainly jumped aboard the second I cracked open this book--no exaggeration. It's a very sweet, slow build up, and I approve of it so very much. *nods*
- It's set in Melbourne! So it was awesome before the story was even written, clearly.
- COMICS. Alba here is quite into them, draws them, so if you like comics, well THEN YOU PRACTICALLY NEEDED THIS BOOK LIKE, YESTERDAY. But no seriously, I really loved this aspect despite not being a comic fan myself, and how it was incorporated into the novel.
In all, I really enjoyed this book (if you couldn't tell), the characters were all spot on, the romance was so genuine and just boootiful and well, JUST READ IT! If you loved Life in Outer Space, then there's no doubt that you'll fall in love with this one too.
~Thank you Hardie Grant Egmont Australia for sending me this copy!~
January 10, 2016
Rating 4.5
“Stories can have a multitude of false starts. In comic books, the first frames can take you any place, via anyone in the stories’ universe. But I guess most stories only start when you place yourself in them, right? Well, mine starts when Domenic Grady bursts into Albany’s one sweltering Sunday, waving his iPad in his hand, and says:
‘Alba! Have you seen this?”
Another fun Aussie book. I'm not saying that all the best YA books are written by Australian (or New Zealand) authors, but if I want to take an enjoyable swim in YA waters, there's nothing safer than reach Down Under.
I've read and enjoyed Keil's Life in Outer Space, a few years back. Even if it wasn't one of those books that linger, in the sea of similar quirky-girl-nerdy-boy books that came and went, I still remember most of that one. I usually can't say the same for a bunch of four star books on my READ list. Many of those made me gush and melt, and leave that last page with a smile ... just to be forgotten six months later. That was one of the reasons I started writing reviews. Humor me, please, I know that what I write is not some sophisticated analysis, but I enjoy revisiting the book this way .... and see what I really liked or disliked about it. Trying to find the words to write about it, makes the story stand out more. Well, at least for me because, let's face it ... I read a lot. Someone is a chain smoker... I'm a chain reader, and more than often a book juggler. I usually read a few chapters of one book, a few of another, and why not a third.
Anyway, I've strayed enough from the book in question. Let's go back on track.
School is over in Eden Valley, Christmas is near. In about a month almost everybody from the Year 12 class will be leaving for UNI, abandoning their home town, with luck ... for good.
“I’m officially Sarah Jane Albany, though everyone in Eden Valley – almost all three-hundredish of them – has called me Alba since I was old enough to crawl.
And if I have been Alba since before I could walk, Domenic Grady has been my best friend since eons before then.
No telling of this story would be possible without a boy. Or, in my case, two. But I promise – it isn’t what you think”
“Now – before you start thinking that this is the story of some waify, sun-kissed country girl – get this straight. I am so NOT that girl. I have dark hair, and darker eyes, and did you hear me mention that I live in a bakery? Like, literally. I sleep in a fog of cinnamon and vanilla, and spend most mornings elbow-deep in pastries and pie.”
Alba, lives with her mother on the upper floor of their bakery . She spends her days merrily baking, drawing, reading and hanging up with her friends. She has curves aplenty, and isn't ashamed of them. She collects garden gnomes (her favorite, a monobrowed one, named Frida). She loves comics. She loves to draw, and until recently her dream was frequenting the UNI in Melbourne, studying the graphic arts.
Now, suddenly she doesn't want to leave town. Everything in her life is starting to hang upside-down, even her last creation "Cinnamon girl", keeps looking out from the captions with a pouty and sour face, no mater how Alba tries to draw her. Grady, her best friend is leaving too. Why do things have to change, when everything is perfect as it is?
And as if to prove that things can always go for worse, it seems that Armageddon is at the doors.... and from the mustached lips of Original Ned, late night television self-proclaimed psychic who received this prophecy, the only place safe from total annihilation will be ... Alba's hometown.
“Countdown clocks appear on screens; one station even does this montagey history of the Valley, obtaining a pic of Mrs Garabaldi in her nightgown, waving a broom at the camera like a frenzied yeti. Alvin Smith, aka Original Ned, finds himself at the centre of the stupidest story in the history of everything, his bald head suddenly ever-present every time I look online.
And then, the news crews start arriving.”
You would think nobody listens to a crook like Ned, yet word of mouth, or better ... Twitter, and soon their peaceful Valley is crawling with all kinds of crazy lunatics.
“It’s as if Albany’s has fallen through some bizarro dimensional crack, where Rosie Addler and the mouth-breathing Albert boys have been replaced by their alternate-universe doppelgangers – an old woman in a see-through fishnet vest, and a bunch of frowny emo kids who look like the end can’t come soon enough.”
Alba's universe is on the verge of obliteration, from everyday small rituals, to friendships, and hearts. Can things turn back to normal when D-day comes and goes with the world still standing. .. or is everything irreparably twisted and broken?
... and what if Doomsday really comes?
“What do I want? I want to wrap everyone I love in one teeny bundle, and I want to build a wall around my Valley and keep it the same way it’s been for the last seventeen years, and I want to wake up every morning in a fog of cinnamon and vanilla, and I want to stop everything from moving until I’m ready for it to move –
‘I like my life,’ I say quietly.”
This IS another quirky-girl-nerdy-boy coming of age story, yet somehow original. I loved Alba's character, with all her insecurities, and I adored her friend Domenic "don't-first-name-me" Grady, with all my heart.
“Grady has forever been all arms and buzziness and the desire to do five bazillion things at once. If he were a comic-book character, he’d need his own signature entrance sound-effect, like a Bazoing! or Bamf! or something."
P.S.
I really wanted to kick that "penny-farthing moron" where the sun never shines.
.... and Alba has reawaken my interest in comics, old movies and TV shows, especially Wonder Women which I watched on some Italian TV channel (never watched with the original voices, I'll look it up now), a favorite when I was little.
“I waste some time doodling Cinnamon Girl in a Silver Age Wonder Woman outfit, but as her face materializes on my page, I can tell she’s not at all happy with me. She plants her hands on her hips, her solid thighs busting out of her star-spangled shorts, and I swear she’s glaring at me with contempt.”
Awaiting Melissa Keil's next book.
December 28, 2015
I mistakenly expected some sci-fi, end of the world survival stuff based off the synopsis, but this is in fact a contemporary that takes place in a small Australian town where nothing much happens, until one day a viral video names it as the last place standing after the impending apocalypse. Rather than being the focus of the story, the Rapture provides a chaotic and quirky backdrop for the main story - that of Alba and her friends now that they've finished high school and are starting to think about the next step.
I adore Alba, she's very much like me, and her friends are great. Some more fleshed out than others, but that's expected. Her relationships with them, her mum and her best friend Grady are brilliant, and the dialogue had me grinning.
Alba is a budding artist obsessed with comic books and her own fledgling character Cinnamon Girl. Comic book references are common throughout, and as a huge fan myself it just drew me even closer to the character.
An old friend makes an appearance in the form of Daniel, and while I did like the idea of him it didn't really feel natural for me in the grander scheme of things, but that's the only small complaint I have about this book. I devoured it in two days and I loved it!
I adore Alba, she's very much like me, and her friends are great. Some more fleshed out than others, but that's expected. Her relationships with them, her mum and her best friend Grady are brilliant, and the dialogue had me grinning.
Alba is a budding artist obsessed with comic books and her own fledgling character Cinnamon Girl. Comic book references are common throughout, and as a huge fan myself it just drew me even closer to the character.
An old friend makes an appearance in the form of Daniel, and while I did like the idea of him it didn't really feel natural for me in the grander scheme of things, but that's the only small complaint I have about this book. I devoured it in two days and I loved it!
January 3, 2016
Such a cute and quirky book!
The characters were real and flawed,the story was slow-paced but very interesting and the writing was excellent.I have to admit that it’s a bit hard to get into this book because there are a lot of supporting characters and background stories to remember but once you get into it you’ll love it. Why? Well,these are just some of the things I liked:
-Every character is very relatable and flawed.They are all very interesting and you’ll get attached to them and their stores,I guarantee you.
-Grady.Hello there new book boyfriend.
-Eddie.I didn’t think he’d become one of my favourite characters.He’s a great person.
-Confident main character.
–NO LOVE TRIANGLE. IKR?
-Slow burning romance.Oh,man,you will love it so much.
-Pretty much everything is a comic reference.How cool is that?
-Amazing friendship.YES.FRIENDSHIP GOALS.
So as you can see there are many things I loved!If this doesn’t convince you to read this book then I really don’t know what else I could do.
However,there are a two things that made me give this book 4 stars:
-Alba’s focus is seriously low.She starts talking about something serious and then she remembers something trivial like,I don’t know,her mom making pancakes and she goes on and on about it for the next 20 pages.I kept forgetting what she was talking about in the first place.Also,she’s a bit too indecisive for my taste.
-Daniel was a bit too…shady? Does that make any sense?
But overall,this is a really good book and I definitely enjoyed reading it!
You can read this review BookishFever.
*E-copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
The characters were real and flawed,the story was slow-paced but very interesting and the writing was excellent.I have to admit that it’s a bit hard to get into this book because there are a lot of supporting characters and background stories to remember but once you get into it you’ll love it. Why? Well,these are just some of the things I liked:
-Every character is very relatable and flawed.They are all very interesting and you’ll get attached to them and their stores,I guarantee you.
-Grady.Hello there new book boyfriend.
-Eddie.I didn’t think he’d become one of my favourite characters.He’s a great person.
-Confident main character.
–NO LOVE TRIANGLE. IKR?
-Slow burning romance.Oh,man,you will love it so much.
-Pretty much everything is a comic reference.How cool is that?
-Amazing friendship.YES.FRIENDSHIP GOALS.
So as you can see there are many things I loved!If this doesn’t convince you to read this book then I really don’t know what else I could do.
However,there are a two things that made me give this book 4 stars:
-Alba’s focus is seriously low.She starts talking about something serious and then she remembers something trivial like,I don’t know,her mom making pancakes and she goes on and on about it for the next 20 pages.I kept forgetting what she was talking about in the first place.Also,she’s a bit too indecisive for my taste.
-Daniel was a bit too…shady? Does that make any sense?
But overall,this is a really good book and I definitely enjoyed reading it!
You can read this review BookishFever.
*E-copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
January 19, 2016
This book is probably best suited for the high school age crowd, but despite that, I really enjoyed a lot of it.
I adored the prologue from the main character. Her voice was quirky and authentic. "As stories go, I'm fully aware that my world is probably not the most riveting of narratives." And it's true. The pacing mirrors the small town feel.
Alba is in that wonderful transition between high school and deciding what direction to take in her life. She loves drawing, especially comics. She has a character called Cinnamon Girl who also has not quite found her niche. Alba has a group of friends about to scatter after the summer in their various pursuits, but she has not quite figured out what she wants to do. In the meantime, her small town gets overrun by flocks of people drawn there by a "prophecy" that the end of the world is coming though supposedly here. She's also dealing with the death of her father some years before. It became evident to me that a lot of her reluctance for change and planning for college had to do with leaving the town with so many memories of her father.
I did get annoyed with Alba continuing to be blind to the boy next door really being the one she should be with. Her epiphanies were delayed to the point of exasperation.
This book is definitely not for everyone, and as I said, I believe this book will be best appreciated by highschool age kids. However, I've always had a soft spot for friends crossing the threshold to being a couple.
Thank you Netgalley for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
I adored the prologue from the main character. Her voice was quirky and authentic. "As stories go, I'm fully aware that my world is probably not the most riveting of narratives." And it's true. The pacing mirrors the small town feel.
Alba is in that wonderful transition between high school and deciding what direction to take in her life. She loves drawing, especially comics. She has a character called Cinnamon Girl who also has not quite found her niche. Alba has a group of friends about to scatter after the summer in their various pursuits, but she has not quite figured out what she wants to do. In the meantime, her small town gets overrun by flocks of people drawn there by a "prophecy" that the end of the world is coming though supposedly here. She's also dealing with the death of her father some years before. It became evident to me that a lot of her reluctance for change and planning for college had to do with leaving the town with so many memories of her father.
I did get annoyed with Alba continuing to be blind to the boy next door really being the one she should be with. Her epiphanies were delayed to the point of exasperation.
This book is definitely not for everyone, and as I said, I believe this book will be best appreciated by highschool age kids. However, I've always had a soft spot for friends crossing the threshold to being a couple.
Thank you Netgalley for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 27, 2016
ALBA DOESNT TAKE UR SHIT I LOVE IT
July 22, 2015
Cool main character ✔
No instant love ✔
Quirky ✔
No dodgy love triangle ✔
Intelligent ✔
Uniquely Aussie ✔
Witty ✔
Loved it? ✔
Haul ass and buy a copy, you won't be sorry.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/09/i...
I really enjoyed Melissa Keil's debut novel Life in Outer Space, but I absolutely adored The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. Alba, a nickname derived from her surname, isn't your typical small town girl. She dreams of taking her comic book characters to the world, but as her circle of friends and best friend Grady graduate from school, she realises that she may only have a few months before she is forced to say goodbye. She struggles to leave the only life she's known behind and venture out into the world, which is something I too experienced when I finished school all those years ago.
Her sidekick is best friend Grady, the two of them growing up together both being raised by single mothers. He's the typical boy next door with a twist. He's not perfect, but he complements Alba's personality, it's a pity his drive an ambition has yet to encourage her to see the world outside of Eden Valley. Life is seemingly perfect, until Daniel breezes back into town. Daniel isn't the same overweight child that left the valley, and now returns as a low grade soap star. The secondary characters were incredibly vivid and well developed, and although don't play a pivotal role in the storyline, they provide sassy banter and each bring a unique and charming element each in their own way.
Alba is brilliant. She's sassy, strong and has an offbeat and unique sense of style, a rockabilly pinup girl who lives for her characters. She's not flirtatious, she doesn't expect compliments, she knows she's an attractive girl with curves that draw attention. But besides from doubting her own future, I loved that she was confident with a healthy and realistic body image. Something we don't generally see in young adult today. She doesn't need a boyfriend and doesn't seek the approval of others for validation. She's what teen girls should be portrayed as. Young adult authors take note, this is how you create a quirky and off beat young adult contemporary, that no doubt readers will fall in love with.
No instant love ✔
Quirky ✔
No dodgy love triangle ✔
Intelligent ✔
Uniquely Aussie ✔
Witty ✔
Loved it? ✔
Haul ass and buy a copy, you won't be sorry.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/09/i...
I really enjoyed Melissa Keil's debut novel Life in Outer Space, but I absolutely adored The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. Alba, a nickname derived from her surname, isn't your typical small town girl. She dreams of taking her comic book characters to the world, but as her circle of friends and best friend Grady graduate from school, she realises that she may only have a few months before she is forced to say goodbye. She struggles to leave the only life she's known behind and venture out into the world, which is something I too experienced when I finished school all those years ago.
Her sidekick is best friend Grady, the two of them growing up together both being raised by single mothers. He's the typical boy next door with a twist. He's not perfect, but he complements Alba's personality, it's a pity his drive an ambition has yet to encourage her to see the world outside of Eden Valley. Life is seemingly perfect, until Daniel breezes back into town. Daniel isn't the same overweight child that left the valley, and now returns as a low grade soap star. The secondary characters were incredibly vivid and well developed, and although don't play a pivotal role in the storyline, they provide sassy banter and each bring a unique and charming element each in their own way.
Alba is brilliant. She's sassy, strong and has an offbeat and unique sense of style, a rockabilly pinup girl who lives for her characters. She's not flirtatious, she doesn't expect compliments, she knows she's an attractive girl with curves that draw attention. But besides from doubting her own future, I loved that she was confident with a healthy and realistic body image. Something we don't generally see in young adult today. She doesn't need a boyfriend and doesn't seek the approval of others for validation. She's what teen girls should be portrayed as. Young adult authors take note, this is how you create a quirky and off beat young adult contemporary, that no doubt readers will fall in love with.
June 14, 2016
A coming of age story about a quirky girl who loves superheroes and comic books with two male best friends from childhood. I love best friend romances, but it took a whole book for the two characters to realise this about themselves which made the wait excruciating. Nothing much happens over the course of the book, except for talk about the supposed impending apocalypse and lots of sex jokes.
I'm like girl, if the world is going to end would you spend it moping and being undecided about your future? I didn't know why she would be worried so much about her future if there was all that talk about Rapture.
It's refreshing having a girl with male best friends although I always get pretty frustrated when they start to have feelings for her. Can't there be purely platonic friendships in fiction?
The wait was worth it though because I had all the feels at the end of the book.
Check out Happy Indulgence Books for more reviews!
I'm like girl, if the world is going to end would you spend it moping and being undecided about your future? I didn't know why she would be worried so much about her future if there was all that talk about Rapture.
It's refreshing having a girl with male best friends although I always get pretty frustrated when they start to have feelings for her. Can't there be purely platonic friendships in fiction?
The wait was worth it though because I had all the feels at the end of the book.
Check out Happy Indulgence Books for more reviews!
December 5, 2020
Trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), fat shaming bullshit.
4/12/2020
Yeah, everything I said four years ago still applies.
2/8/2016
Here's the thing: this book is super cute, I loved the characters, and I ship it like Fedex.
But this book made me want to scream because OH MY GOD ALBA HOW ARE YOU SO FUCKING BLIND.
I honestly don't think I can say anything more than that. Except that I've been looking at this book and putting it off for literally years. So I'm glad I finally read it. But HOW. HOOOOOW. HOW ARE YOU SO OBLIVIOUS. Literally everyone around Alba knows, and yet she can't see it. Gah. Also, it's a teeny bit predictable. But I don't care, because CUTE SO MUCH CUTE.
So yeah. Super cute. Super shippy. Super frustrating.
4/12/2020
Yeah, everything I said four years ago still applies.
2/8/2016
Here's the thing: this book is super cute, I loved the characters, and I ship it like Fedex.
But this book made me want to scream because OH MY GOD ALBA HOW ARE YOU SO FUCKING BLIND.
I honestly don't think I can say anything more than that. Except that I've been looking at this book and putting it off for literally years. So I'm glad I finally read it. But HOW. HOOOOOW. HOW ARE YOU SO OBLIVIOUS. Literally everyone around Alba knows, and yet she can't see it. Gah. Also, it's a teeny bit predictable. But I don't care, because CUTE SO MUCH CUTE.
So yeah. Super cute. Super shippy. Super frustrating.
September 13, 2020
A super quirky book. I think it's important to know that not much really happens in this book. What kept me reading was the oddly charming characters. I listened to this as an audio and I think that was a good choice as I probably would have dnf'd the physical copy. Slow to get going but I smiled through the entire last hour.
I totally recommend Life in Outer Space by the same author as a thoroughly enjoyable book.
I totally recommend Life in Outer Space by the same author as a thoroughly enjoyable book.
November 7, 2015
Wow. WOW. This is a fantastic book set against the backdrop of the potential end of the world. Nuanced characters and relationships. A heroine who is an artist, not a waif, and funny. Oh, she's funny. I read this in one sitting on the way back from Australia and all I have to say is that the moment you can get your hands on this, grab it.
February 29, 2016
Read reviews, see awesome GIFS and experience my rambling thoughts at my blog, The Loony Teen Writer
I bought this because I loved Life in Outer Space.
It’s by the same author (the excellent Melissa Keil) and it’s about nerds and Star Wars references and a really cute romance and…yeah, it was awesome. So of COURSE I wanted to read this one.
Also it’s got an excellent cover. I mean, just LOOK at it!
Awesome things in this book include:
Unique concept for a contemporary – how many contemporaries take place alongside a possible apocalypse?
And side note: Supernatural really DOES have a gif for everything.
So this was a really cool concept. I loved that it was different, that it reflected how Alba’s world was kind of ending…or that she was facing a new beginning anyway.
At a few times I found it a little hard to suspend disbelief, because these apocalyptic things happen all the time (2012, anyone?) and nobody ever pays attention to them. And major news stations certainly wouldn’t report on them. But that’s a minor quibble.
Awesome characters.
We have Alba and Grady, the two main characters, but there are also heaps of others. I don’t know how I can describe their interactions except to say they’re colourful – lots of fun references and kidding around and sexual references (of course). I loved how Alba changed all of Eddie’s swearing to “fecking.” That made me laugh.
Alba herself is awesome. YAY FOR GIRLS WITH GREAT BODY IMAGE. Alba’s not your typical kind of beautiful, but she rocks what she’s got anyway, because screw conventional beauty.
I could really relate to Alba. She’s in rural Australia, and she’s facing a choice between leaving the beautiful Eden Valley, or staying. She’s finished her last year of school and the next stop is…well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? It’s also a decision I’ll be making in a year’s time – those same worries of losing friends, making the wrong choice, the world metaphorically ending. So I really loved her character.
SUPER-CUTE ROMANCE.
I’ll say no more on the matter, but trust me, it’s awesome.
Really quirky, Aussie and excellent.
It’s different. That’s what I loved about Life in Outer Space, that it’s so unique. And there are lots of Aussie-isms in there as well – a fictional show called Home Among the Gum Trees, among other things. We used to sing that song at school…give me a home among the gum trees…with lots of plum trees…a sheep or two and a kangaroo…
Okay I’ll stop now.
I bought this because I loved Life in Outer Space.
It’s by the same author (the excellent Melissa Keil) and it’s about nerds and Star Wars references and a really cute romance and…yeah, it was awesome. So of COURSE I wanted to read this one.
Also it’s got an excellent cover. I mean, just LOOK at it!
Awesome things in this book include:
Unique concept for a contemporary – how many contemporaries take place alongside a possible apocalypse?
And side note: Supernatural really DOES have a gif for everything.
So this was a really cool concept. I loved that it was different, that it reflected how Alba’s world was kind of ending…or that she was facing a new beginning anyway.
At a few times I found it a little hard to suspend disbelief, because these apocalyptic things happen all the time (2012, anyone?) and nobody ever pays attention to them. And major news stations certainly wouldn’t report on them. But that’s a minor quibble.
Awesome characters.
We have Alba and Grady, the two main characters, but there are also heaps of others. I don’t know how I can describe their interactions except to say they’re colourful – lots of fun references and kidding around and sexual references (of course). I loved how Alba changed all of Eddie’s swearing to “fecking.” That made me laugh.
Alba herself is awesome. YAY FOR GIRLS WITH GREAT BODY IMAGE. Alba’s not your typical kind of beautiful, but she rocks what she’s got anyway, because screw conventional beauty.
I could really relate to Alba. She’s in rural Australia, and she’s facing a choice between leaving the beautiful Eden Valley, or staying. She’s finished her last year of school and the next stop is…well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? It’s also a decision I’ll be making in a year’s time – those same worries of losing friends, making the wrong choice, the world metaphorically ending. So I really loved her character.
SUPER-CUTE ROMANCE.
I’ll say no more on the matter, but trust me, it’s awesome.
Really quirky, Aussie and excellent.
It’s different. That’s what I loved about Life in Outer Space, that it’s so unique. And there are lots of Aussie-isms in there as well – a fictional show called Home Among the Gum Trees, among other things. We used to sing that song at school…give me a home among the gum trees…with lots of plum trees…a sheep or two and a kangaroo…
Okay I’ll stop now.
May 10, 2015
This book was ok. I liked the basis of the plot and it is cleverly constructed. Also, one thing I did learn was that what my teenage daughter does with her clothes is put them in her floordrobe. People say that Melissa Keil's first book, Life in Outer Space, is better than this one so I might try reading that sometime.
I still like Nona & me best from the CBCA short list this year.
I still like Nona & me best from the CBCA short list this year.
April 19, 2018
I JUST ADORED THIS BOOK! It was as good as Id hoped and I JUST LOVE ALBA AND GRADY. GOSH IT WAS JUST SO CUTE AND FUNNY AND NERDY. I loved it. It also held a lot of themes you can relate to, beings cared of change and the future, but I also love the message in the end. I JUST LOVE IT READ IT AND LOVE IT TOO
December 12, 2015
This was so fecking cute. Loved it and I love this author. Aussie YA ftw!
April 28, 2024
2021 EDIT: I used to love this, and think it was adorable, endearing and hilarious. Sadly, upon rereading, it seems I can only see the flaws.
Its female protagonist Alba - for someone who loves comic books and superheroines - is ridiculously male-dependent. She can't live without her male best friend/Nice Guy love interest Grady constantly by her side, along with other guys who she always turns to for help and validation. It was Grady who came up with the name Cinnamon Girl for Alba's comic book heroine, how did I miss that the first time? Guys are the muses for this "independent" artist girl. *sigh*
The parasitic, beaten-to-death-and-beyond cliché I hate, which I even commented on in my old, positive review: Seriously, why can't a boy and a girl just remain friends? Especially since they grew up together and are like siblings. The boy revealing to the girl protagonist that he's been in love with her since kindergarten, and she'd been completely oblivious of course, gave me flashbacks to the crap 'Mortal Instruments' books. Big step in the opposite-sex couple's relationship or not, it's a tiresome cliché, often used to force in a happy ending. Yeah, I hate it more now. This book doesn't challenge many YA tropes as strongly as it should.
Some, no, most of the characters are more irritating and obnoxious than charming, even for self-absorbed teens.
Then there's the slight homophobia (exacerbated by the fact that there isn't a single queer character present in the entire book), lack of POC rep (beyond tokenism), kink shaming, fatphobia (bewildering when the protagonist herself is described as fat, and she is way too nice and apologetic to people who make her feel ashamed for that), slut shaming (what does it matter how much makeup Alba wears? It's for herself, not for guys' attention), feminine shaming in males and perpetuating toxic masculinity ideas (like, all the guys love girls and breasts in their vicinity; never-below-the-chest bro hugs are an important man code apparently; a boy squealing and showing any exciting emotion is judged as "girly"; normalised small penis jokes; and an allergy to strawberries is seen as one of the most unmanly things ever - go to hell, book), and the casual use of an ableist slur which I will not overlook.
It's like reading 'Whisper' by Chrissie Keighery, another book I used to love, which is also a contemporary Australian YA novel, all over again. Why don't I remember any ableist slurs being used on the first reads?!
I'm just sick of heteronormativity, too. I expect better from my YA, thanks.
'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' can be a bit of a boring, plotless slog to get through, as well. The all-encompassing hetero relationship drama doesn't help it. If it were a graphic novel and not prose, it wouldn't exactly be incredible or adventurous.
But the premise is a brilliant, clever coming-of-age metaphor, and ignoring all its problematic features (easily done for its young target audience, I guess), it can be read as cute and lighthearted. I also still think it is, in a way, realistic and relatable.
So 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' receives a new three star rating from me.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
I've been on the fence over whether to give 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' four stars or five. But to heck with the fence, I love it.
'Cinnamon Girl' by Melissa Keil is one of the most adorable, delicious, hilarious, clever, deep and colourful contemporary YA novels I've ever super-sped through in two days. A darn-near perfect summer read. It gave me faith in Australian YA again as well.
If you like Rainbow Rowell's 'Fangirl', Bryan Lee O'Malley's 'Scott Pilgrim', and/or Daniel Clowes' 'Ghost World', then you're sure to want to squeeze the fun and light and life out of 'Cinnamon Girl', as it has a similar coming-of-age narrative centered on a young adult whose world changes all around them and they don't want to deal with it because they like life as it's always been in childhood. Keil's masterwork also reminded me of slice-of-life cartoons from the nineties such as 'Hey Arnold!' and 'Doug', especially with its distinct and lovable characters belonging to the young, imaginative protagonist's group of friends. The superhero and pop culture references don't hurt it at all, and just adds to the nostalgic cinnamon strudel. I want to hug this book repeatedly.
The possibility of the world literally ending parallels the growing-up of Sarah Jane "Alba" Albany, a teen comic book nerd and artist who lives and works in a bakery with her mother. Before she can process it, her whole world suddenly turns upside down in more ways than one. Her little, nondescript hometown of Eden Valley in Australia is being toted via social media as the only safe haven from an impending apocalypse. This, combined with most of her friends wanting to leave their "boring" town as soon as they graduate high school, a childhood friend turned D-list TV actor revisiting Eden Valley as a publicity stunt (among other motives), and her coming to terms with her father's death, it is enough to make the escapist Alba curl up in her bed and never want to step out of her room. Her favourite garden gnome goes missing too, one of the many cherries on top.
She wants to stay in Eden Valley, where she was born and bred, and stick to her comfortable routines and traditions. She wants to hang out with her lifelong best friend Domenic Grady forever, but they have separate dreams and can't live in the same place when they become adults. She wants to continue drawing her own superhero creation and avatar, Cinnamon Girl, experimenting with alternate styles, but lately Cinnamon Girl's facial expressions turn negative on paper without Alba consciously meaning them to. Everyone in this story keeps asking Alba, "What do you want?" - something she finds she can't answer, for the changes happening around her as she reaches a major step in her life are more bizarre and scary than in any comic book she's ever read.
Really, I adore Alba. She's funny, not conventionally attractive with her chubbiness, and in keeping with the book's overall "It's all so strange it must be true" theme - like a graphic novel in prose form - she is totally, believably human; more so due to her quirks. It is almost scary how much I could relate to Alba: a struggling creative artist who is made to deal with real life and how it works, no matter how much she wishes to avoid confronting her issues through escapist fiction. Particularly superhero fiction, and imagining she can live like the massively beloved Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, or Batgirl.
The only reason I considered giving 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' four stars is the romance. While there is a really clever twist on the YA love triangle cliché that's revealed at the very end and is foreshadowed throughout the narrative, I can't say I care for a romance still being in the story. It's unneeded, and refutes claims about the book "subverting" YA tropes (something that really isn't hard to do). Seriously, why can't a boy and a girl just remain friends? Especially since they grew up together and are like siblings. The boy revealing to the girl protagonist that he's been in love with her since kindergarten, and she'd been completely oblivious of course, gave me flashbacks to the crap 'Mortal Instruments' books. Big step in the opposite-sex couple's relationship or not, it's a tiresome cliché, often used to force in a happy ending.
However, the love interest himself is interesting (and hot, because we wouldn't want it any other way - *sarcasm* - and just because you subtly point out that you may be using a cliché doesn't make it any less cliché), plus he and Alba have great chemistry together. So I decided I didn't mind their romance much. It's certainly not enough to ruin an otherwise fantastic novel.
'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' - I've never read a contemporary coming-of-age book so endearing, heartfelt, laugh-out-loud funny, re-readable, unforgettable, and cute - with a race-against-the-clock shadow and adolescent anxiety hanging over everything - in a long time, certainly not from the YA market. I love the writing; while one of the main highlights has to be the witty, charming and profound dialogue, another is how the small town aspects of Eden Valley, and Alba's artwork, are described. The prose is simple and beautiful, written with an artist's touch like a fresh, colourful sky perfectly setting the mood of a situation. 'Cinnamon Girl' was carefully planned out by Keil; nothing and no one is forgotten about, and the foreshadowing is well done.
An inventive, poetic, sugary, superheroic delight. Strongly recommended.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Its female protagonist Alba - for someone who loves comic books and superheroines - is ridiculously male-dependent. She can't live without her male best friend/Nice Guy love interest Grady constantly by her side, along with other guys who she always turns to for help and validation. It was Grady who came up with the name Cinnamon Girl for Alba's comic book heroine, how did I miss that the first time? Guys are the muses for this "independent" artist girl. *sigh*
The parasitic, beaten-to-death-and-beyond cliché I hate, which I even commented on in my old, positive review: Seriously, why can't a boy and a girl just remain friends? Especially since they grew up together and are like siblings. The boy revealing to the girl protagonist that he's been in love with her since kindergarten, and she'd been completely oblivious of course, gave me flashbacks to the crap 'Mortal Instruments' books. Big step in the opposite-sex couple's relationship or not, it's a tiresome cliché, often used to force in a happy ending. Yeah, I hate it more now. This book doesn't challenge many YA tropes as strongly as it should.
Some, no, most of the characters are more irritating and obnoxious than charming, even for self-absorbed teens.
Then there's the slight homophobia (exacerbated by the fact that there isn't a single queer character present in the entire book), lack of POC rep (beyond tokenism), kink shaming, fatphobia (bewildering when the protagonist herself is described as fat, and she is way too nice and apologetic to people who make her feel ashamed for that), slut shaming (what does it matter how much makeup Alba wears? It's for herself, not for guys' attention), feminine shaming in males and perpetuating toxic masculinity ideas (like, all the guys love girls and breasts in their vicinity; never-below-the-chest bro hugs are an important man code apparently; a boy squealing and showing any exciting emotion is judged as "girly"; normalised small penis jokes; and an allergy to strawberries is seen as one of the most unmanly things ever - go to hell, book), and the casual use of an ableist slur which I will not overlook.
It's like reading 'Whisper' by Chrissie Keighery, another book I used to love, which is also a contemporary Australian YA novel, all over again. Why don't I remember any ableist slurs being used on the first reads?!
I'm just sick of heteronormativity, too. I expect better from my YA, thanks.
'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' can be a bit of a boring, plotless slog to get through, as well. The all-encompassing hetero relationship drama doesn't help it. If it were a graphic novel and not prose, it wouldn't exactly be incredible or adventurous.
But the premise is a brilliant, clever coming-of-age metaphor, and ignoring all its problematic features (easily done for its young target audience, I guess), it can be read as cute and lighthearted. I also still think it is, in a way, realistic and relatable.
So 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' receives a new three star rating from me.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
I've been on the fence over whether to give 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' four stars or five. But to heck with the fence, I love it.
'Cinnamon Girl' by Melissa Keil is one of the most adorable, delicious, hilarious, clever, deep and colourful contemporary YA novels I've ever super-sped through in two days. A darn-near perfect summer read. It gave me faith in Australian YA again as well.
If you like Rainbow Rowell's 'Fangirl', Bryan Lee O'Malley's 'Scott Pilgrim', and/or Daniel Clowes' 'Ghost World', then you're sure to want to squeeze the fun and light and life out of 'Cinnamon Girl', as it has a similar coming-of-age narrative centered on a young adult whose world changes all around them and they don't want to deal with it because they like life as it's always been in childhood. Keil's masterwork also reminded me of slice-of-life cartoons from the nineties such as 'Hey Arnold!' and 'Doug', especially with its distinct and lovable characters belonging to the young, imaginative protagonist's group of friends. The superhero and pop culture references don't hurt it at all, and just adds to the nostalgic cinnamon strudel. I want to hug this book repeatedly.
The possibility of the world literally ending parallels the growing-up of Sarah Jane "Alba" Albany, a teen comic book nerd and artist who lives and works in a bakery with her mother. Before she can process it, her whole world suddenly turns upside down in more ways than one. Her little, nondescript hometown of Eden Valley in Australia is being toted via social media as the only safe haven from an impending apocalypse. This, combined with most of her friends wanting to leave their "boring" town as soon as they graduate high school, a childhood friend turned D-list TV actor revisiting Eden Valley as a publicity stunt (among other motives), and her coming to terms with her father's death, it is enough to make the escapist Alba curl up in her bed and never want to step out of her room. Her favourite garden gnome goes missing too, one of the many cherries on top.
She wants to stay in Eden Valley, where she was born and bred, and stick to her comfortable routines and traditions. She wants to hang out with her lifelong best friend Domenic Grady forever, but they have separate dreams and can't live in the same place when they become adults. She wants to continue drawing her own superhero creation and avatar, Cinnamon Girl, experimenting with alternate styles, but lately Cinnamon Girl's facial expressions turn negative on paper without Alba consciously meaning them to. Everyone in this story keeps asking Alba, "What do you want?" - something she finds she can't answer, for the changes happening around her as she reaches a major step in her life are more bizarre and scary than in any comic book she's ever read.
Really, I adore Alba. She's funny, not conventionally attractive with her chubbiness, and in keeping with the book's overall "It's all so strange it must be true" theme - like a graphic novel in prose form - she is totally, believably human; more so due to her quirks. It is almost scary how much I could relate to Alba: a struggling creative artist who is made to deal with real life and how it works, no matter how much she wishes to avoid confronting her issues through escapist fiction. Particularly superhero fiction, and imagining she can live like the massively beloved Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, or Batgirl.
The only reason I considered giving 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' four stars is the romance. While there is a really clever twist on the YA love triangle cliché that's revealed at the very end and is foreshadowed throughout the narrative, I can't say I care for a romance still being in the story. It's unneeded, and refutes claims about the book "subverting" YA tropes (something that really isn't hard to do). Seriously, why can't a boy and a girl just remain friends? Especially since they grew up together and are like siblings. The boy revealing to the girl protagonist that he's been in love with her since kindergarten, and she'd been completely oblivious of course, gave me flashbacks to the crap 'Mortal Instruments' books. Big step in the opposite-sex couple's relationship or not, it's a tiresome cliché, often used to force in a happy ending.
However, the love interest himself is interesting (and hot, because we wouldn't want it any other way - *sarcasm* - and just because you subtly point out that you may be using a cliché doesn't make it any less cliché), plus he and Alba have great chemistry together. So I decided I didn't mind their romance much. It's certainly not enough to ruin an otherwise fantastic novel.
'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' - I've never read a contemporary coming-of-age book so endearing, heartfelt, laugh-out-loud funny, re-readable, unforgettable, and cute - with a race-against-the-clock shadow and adolescent anxiety hanging over everything - in a long time, certainly not from the YA market. I love the writing; while one of the main highlights has to be the witty, charming and profound dialogue, another is how the small town aspects of Eden Valley, and Alba's artwork, are described. The prose is simple and beautiful, written with an artist's touch like a fresh, colourful sky perfectly setting the mood of a situation. 'Cinnamon Girl' was carefully planned out by Keil; nothing and no one is forgotten about, and the foreshadowing is well done.
An inventive, poetic, sugary, superheroic delight. Strongly recommended.
Final Score: 4.5/5
June 15, 2016
Sarah is a lover of comic books. It’s apparent in the first paragraph when she explicitly and beautifully details a single panel of a Wonder Woman comic. You don’t need a picture of the panel. You can see it.
I want to meet someone like her.
Melissa Keil is an amazing writer, and I fell in love with each and every one of her characters from their respective introductions.
And I love the regular reference to comic books.
And this:
Yes – if this girl is based on a real woman, I definitely need to meet her.
I really liked how it ended; I didn’t see where it was going. But then, the author pulls us into Sarah’s head, and she didn’t really know where it was going.
Yup.
A beautiful story. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, Peachtree Publishers, and Myrick Marketing & Media for a copy in return for an honest review.
I want to meet someone like her.
Melissa Keil is an amazing writer, and I fell in love with each and every one of her characters from their respective introductions.
And I love the regular reference to comic books.
“…I can’t help but think that, comic book-wise, this whole episode would probably fill nothing but a couple interlude frames; like that moment where a character has a sepia-tinted dream before crashing back into their real story.”
And this:
“I’m occupied with much more vital tasks of painting my toenails in Wonder Woman cobalt, with red tips and perfectly spaced white stars, and then cataloging my longboxes of comics into a color-coded Excel spreadsheet.”
Yes – if this girl is based on a real woman, I definitely need to meet her.
I really liked how it ended; I didn’t see where it was going. But then, the author pulls us into Sarah’s head, and she didn’t really know where it was going.
“…the angst about doing is more terrifying than the actual leap.”
Yup.
A beautiful story. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, Peachtree Publishers, and Myrick Marketing & Media for a copy in return for an honest review.
November 14, 2014
Full review also posted on my blog here.
So I adored Melissa Keil's first book Life in Outer Space and was so excited when I heard about her new YA novel The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. I was dying to read it so when a copy of the book turned up for my birthday last month I was over the moon!
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl follows comic book lover and illustrator Sarah Jane Albany, known to everyone as Alba, and her friends as they decide what to do with their lives now school is over. As if all that wasn't enough to deal with, a viral YouTube video about the end of the world has seen hundreds of people descend on Alba's small town causing chaos.
I loved this book, like absolutely adored it. And it's so hard to know where to start! I think Alba is pretty much the best thing about the book. She was such a refreshing character and felt a lot more relatable than a lot of the characters I've read. There's a confidence about her which is striking, particularly when it comes to her views on herself and her body image. It makes such a nice change to read about a female character who isn't obsessing about what she looks like or how hideous she is, but is so clearly comfortable in her own skin.
I could also relate a lot to Alba's frustrations when it comes to her drawing. Throughout the book she's working on sketches and comic strips featuring her character Cinnamon Girl, only she can't seem to find the direction she wants to go with it. I think anyone who's creative will be able to recognise that struggle to take your ideas and channel them into something. I thought it was really smart how Alba's challenges with her character kind of reflected what was happening in her own life as well.
I also loved the way Keil has captured those uncertainties you have about the future, which are especially prevalent when you're a teenager. There are so many choices Alba and her friends have to make, all of which will affect the balance of their friendship. I think we've all been in situations where change is on the horizon and you dread the inevitability of things being different and friends drifting apart, so you cling on desperately to the present where things are happy and comfortable. I thought it was clever how the addition of Daniel, someone from Alba's past, really helped shake things up and made Alba question things even more.
Then there's Grady, Alba's wonderfully sweet childhood friend. The two of them have a beautiful relationship which is really put to the test throughout the story. I adored Grady and the chemistry between him and Alba. I just couldn't help becoming completely invested with what happened between the two of them and was riding the ups and downs of their friendship right there with them!
Melissa Keil has also nailed the humour in The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. When Alba and her friends were just hanging out, I felt like I was right there with them, sharing in the fun. The dialogue was so spot on and Alba's inner monologue kept me grinning throughout. The writing in general was amazing, from the little details like the food cooked at the bakery (it made you hungry just reading!) to these wonderfully developed characters you came to love and adore.
The whole storyline of the end of the world being just around the corner was something that really drove the plot on, even though it was just something in the background of Alba's mind. Really the book is all about the characters, their decisions and how they're reflecting on their past as they start to plan their futures.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. I think everyone will find something in The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl that will make them look back at their own teenage years, or a time in their lives when big changes were happening, and stir up those feelings again. Spending time with Alba as she makes hers' was an absolute pleasure.
So I adored Melissa Keil's first book Life in Outer Space and was so excited when I heard about her new YA novel The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. I was dying to read it so when a copy of the book turned up for my birthday last month I was over the moon!
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl follows comic book lover and illustrator Sarah Jane Albany, known to everyone as Alba, and her friends as they decide what to do with their lives now school is over. As if all that wasn't enough to deal with, a viral YouTube video about the end of the world has seen hundreds of people descend on Alba's small town causing chaos.
I loved this book, like absolutely adored it. And it's so hard to know where to start! I think Alba is pretty much the best thing about the book. She was such a refreshing character and felt a lot more relatable than a lot of the characters I've read. There's a confidence about her which is striking, particularly when it comes to her views on herself and her body image. It makes such a nice change to read about a female character who isn't obsessing about what she looks like or how hideous she is, but is so clearly comfortable in her own skin.
I could also relate a lot to Alba's frustrations when it comes to her drawing. Throughout the book she's working on sketches and comic strips featuring her character Cinnamon Girl, only she can't seem to find the direction she wants to go with it. I think anyone who's creative will be able to recognise that struggle to take your ideas and channel them into something. I thought it was really smart how Alba's challenges with her character kind of reflected what was happening in her own life as well.
I also loved the way Keil has captured those uncertainties you have about the future, which are especially prevalent when you're a teenager. There are so many choices Alba and her friends have to make, all of which will affect the balance of their friendship. I think we've all been in situations where change is on the horizon and you dread the inevitability of things being different and friends drifting apart, so you cling on desperately to the present where things are happy and comfortable. I thought it was clever how the addition of Daniel, someone from Alba's past, really helped shake things up and made Alba question things even more.
Then there's Grady, Alba's wonderfully sweet childhood friend. The two of them have a beautiful relationship which is really put to the test throughout the story. I adored Grady and the chemistry between him and Alba. I just couldn't help becoming completely invested with what happened between the two of them and was riding the ups and downs of their friendship right there with them!
Melissa Keil has also nailed the humour in The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. When Alba and her friends were just hanging out, I felt like I was right there with them, sharing in the fun. The dialogue was so spot on and Alba's inner monologue kept me grinning throughout. The writing in general was amazing, from the little details like the food cooked at the bakery (it made you hungry just reading!) to these wonderfully developed characters you came to love and adore.
The whole storyline of the end of the world being just around the corner was something that really drove the plot on, even though it was just something in the background of Alba's mind. Really the book is all about the characters, their decisions and how they're reflecting on their past as they start to plan their futures.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. I think everyone will find something in The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl that will make them look back at their own teenage years, or a time in their lives when big changes were happening, and stir up those feelings again. Spending time with Alba as she makes hers' was an absolute pleasure.
February 18, 2015
This book was brilliant. It featured excellent character building and a pitch-perfect setting, and a plot that worked so well with them both
Alba lives in a small town.. She and her friends have finished school, and are hanging around waiting for something to happen, trying to decide what to do with their lives. She is especially worried as her best friend, Grady, wants to go to law school in Melbourne, potentially leaving her behind. When her best friend from years ago, Daniel, turns up, and the apocalypse is predicted, everything is complicated, and Alba, like her character Cinnamon Girl, needs to make some decisions and accept some Changes.
Lets talk about character developement, oui?
Alba is wonderfully developed throughout the book. Her conflict- between small town and big town is perfectly layered. We can totally understand why she acts the way she does. Her choices are very complicated, and she just wants things to stay as they are As the book goes on , it becomes evident that > Her fathers death has made her afraid of things changing. As everything in 'Eden Valley', her idea of a perfect place changes- hippies, her relationship to Grady, etc- she becomes aware of this. Seeing her realization is almost tangible, its a process that can easily be believed. Alba is a really likeable character, and I though that she was done wonderfully.
I love it when side characters are also developed. Though it took me a while to work out all the names little details, like Eddies blushing, Carolines bluster, Tia's chatter, Daniels insecurites- reveal details about themselves that make them much more identifiable with. I also loved the dynamic the group has as a whole, as shown by the Christmas Dinner Breakfast and watching as home in the gum trees. All of the characters have flaws and plus points, and that makes the book so much richer.
The setting, a small town on the verge of the 'apocalypse' was really well done. Alba's mum runs a bakery, and little details, like apple strudel and the wafting scent of cinnamon fill the book. I love the little pieces that construct Eden Valley, like Mrs Garabaldi, and the general store, and farms and campgrounds. This author writes excellent settings without ever feeling like she's infodumping. I could tell you a whole lot of things about Alba's room- that she has stacks of comics everywhere, underwear on the floor, and a cupboard full of dresses, a green couch for Grady to sleep on- yet this information never feels like its intruding on the story
Oh, yes, the story
The story ambles along. This book isn't fast paced, but it is lovely, and the plot unfolds like a origami flower, gently and beautifully. After the basic premise is established, Alba pretty much runs around with her friends, getting increasingly panicked about the future and her role in it. Daniels return makes her realise that she's sort of been hiding from the future and the past, and all the fluster surrounding all sorts of visitors. Alba's choice making process was very realistic, and all the other vibrant characters made this book way more colourful. I also love the way that Cinnamon Girl was a metaphor for Alba. It worked really well, in my opinion.
In short : if you like contemporaries, characters or fun reads, read this one.
Alba lives in a small town.. She and her friends have finished school, and are hanging around waiting for something to happen, trying to decide what to do with their lives. She is especially worried as her best friend, Grady, wants to go to law school in Melbourne, potentially leaving her behind. When her best friend from years ago, Daniel, turns up, and the apocalypse is predicted, everything is complicated, and Alba, like her character Cinnamon Girl, needs to make some decisions and accept some Changes.
Lets talk about character developement, oui?
Alba is wonderfully developed throughout the book. Her conflict- between small town and big town is perfectly layered. We can totally understand why she acts the way she does. Her choices are very complicated, and she just wants things to stay as they are As the book goes on , it becomes evident that > Her fathers death has made her afraid of things changing. As everything in 'Eden Valley', her idea of a perfect place changes- hippies, her relationship to Grady, etc- she becomes aware of this. Seeing her realization is almost tangible, its a process that can easily be believed. Alba is a really likeable character, and I though that she was done wonderfully.
I love it when side characters are also developed. Though it took me a while to work out all the names little details, like Eddies blushing, Carolines bluster, Tia's chatter, Daniels insecurites- reveal details about themselves that make them much more identifiable with. I also loved the dynamic the group has as a whole, as shown by the Christmas Dinner Breakfast and watching as home in the gum trees. All of the characters have flaws and plus points, and that makes the book so much richer.
The setting, a small town on the verge of the 'apocalypse' was really well done. Alba's mum runs a bakery, and little details, like apple strudel and the wafting scent of cinnamon fill the book. I love the little pieces that construct Eden Valley, like Mrs Garabaldi, and the general store, and farms and campgrounds. This author writes excellent settings without ever feeling like she's infodumping. I could tell you a whole lot of things about Alba's room- that she has stacks of comics everywhere, underwear on the floor, and a cupboard full of dresses, a green couch for Grady to sleep on- yet this information never feels like its intruding on the story
Oh, yes, the story
The story ambles along. This book isn't fast paced, but it is lovely, and the plot unfolds like a origami flower, gently and beautifully. After the basic premise is established, Alba pretty much runs around with her friends, getting increasingly panicked about the future and her role in it. Daniels return makes her realise that she's sort of been hiding from the future and the past, and all the fluster surrounding all sorts of visitors. Alba's choice making process was very realistic, and all the other vibrant characters made this book way more colourful. I also love the way that Cinnamon Girl was a metaphor for Alba. It worked really well, in my opinion.
In short : if you like contemporaries, characters or fun reads, read this one.
August 31, 2024
First Read: 10 January 2020
Second Read: 31 August 2024 (Found the first half a little slow the second time around, but loved the ending.
Original Review
This book is adorable and I read all 300 pages of it pretty much in one sitting (oops)!
Set in a small town in country NSW (Australia) it revolves around Alby (Cinnamon Girl) and her group of close friends in the month after they have finished year 12 and just before they are about to all head off in different directions:
"What do I want? I want to wrap everyone I love in one teeny bundle, and I want to build a wall around my Valley and keep it the same way it's been for the last seventeen years, and I want to wake up every morning in a fog of cinnamon and vanilla, and I want to stop everything from moving until I'm ready for it to move - ".
It is a cute coming of age book. It is a book about superheros, pop-culture, friendship, loss, family and of course a beautifully sweet romance underlying it all. However, it is also a book with some really quirky happenings given that a crackpot has gone viral with announcing that the world is coming to an end on New Years Eve but all those in this small town will be saved:
"Some dude in a village in France is convinced his goat gave birth to a rabbit. Though really, his proof seems to be an unfamiliar bunny hopping around his yard and his goat appearing a little more chuffed than usual. Drunk goat herders aside, the signs are, apparently everywhere".
I laughed during this. I sighed (a lot!) and in the end I realised that I need to try and get this (library book) for my bookcase/kindle so I can read it again down the track when I need a feel-good book (come on kindle sale! :-P). I have read other Melissa Keil books and never clicked while everyone else raved...I think I was just waiting for this one.
Totally sugary (cinnamonly) cute for when you need a feel-good book.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2020 Aussie Author Annual Challenge: Read a book by a female Australian Author
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Everything is Australian Author Challenge: Kookaburra - The Kookaburra is one of the emblems for NSW. Read a book set in New South Wales.
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual United in Reading Calendar Challenge: July - World Youth Skills Day, July 15: Read a book featuring young people
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Genre Challenge: Read a young adult book
Aussie Readers 2024 "Winter Challenge": Reading Resolutions. Focus on female authors! Read only books written by women authors.
Aussie Readers 2024 July "Greg Woodland" Challenge: Greg's award-winning short films and documentaries have screened at national and international film festivals and TV channels. Read a book by an AUSTRALIAN author.
Second Read: 31 August 2024 (Found the first half a little slow the second time around, but loved the ending.
Original Review
This book is adorable and I read all 300 pages of it pretty much in one sitting (oops)!
Set in a small town in country NSW (Australia) it revolves around Alby (Cinnamon Girl) and her group of close friends in the month after they have finished year 12 and just before they are about to all head off in different directions:
"What do I want? I want to wrap everyone I love in one teeny bundle, and I want to build a wall around my Valley and keep it the same way it's been for the last seventeen years, and I want to wake up every morning in a fog of cinnamon and vanilla, and I want to stop everything from moving until I'm ready for it to move - ".
It is a cute coming of age book. It is a book about superheros, pop-culture, friendship, loss, family and of course a beautifully sweet romance underlying it all. However, it is also a book with some really quirky happenings given that a crackpot has gone viral with announcing that the world is coming to an end on New Years Eve but all those in this small town will be saved:
"Some dude in a village in France is convinced his goat gave birth to a rabbit. Though really, his proof seems to be an unfamiliar bunny hopping around his yard and his goat appearing a little more chuffed than usual. Drunk goat herders aside, the signs are, apparently everywhere".
I laughed during this. I sighed (a lot!) and in the end I realised that I need to try and get this (library book) for my bookcase/kindle so I can read it again down the track when I need a feel-good book (come on kindle sale! :-P). I have read other Melissa Keil books and never clicked while everyone else raved...I think I was just waiting for this one.
Totally sugary (cinnamonly) cute for when you need a feel-good book.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2020 Aussie Author Annual Challenge: Read a book by a female Australian Author
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Everything is Australian Author Challenge: Kookaburra - The Kookaburra is one of the emblems for NSW. Read a book set in New South Wales.
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual United in Reading Calendar Challenge: July - World Youth Skills Day, July 15: Read a book featuring young people
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Genre Challenge: Read a young adult book
Aussie Readers 2024 "Winter Challenge": Reading Resolutions. Focus on female authors! Read only books written by women authors.
Aussie Readers 2024 July "Greg Woodland" Challenge: Greg's award-winning short films and documentaries have screened at national and international film festivals and TV channels. Read a book by an AUSTRALIAN author.
July 19, 2015
2015 Reading Challenge #29: A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit (Australia).
El fin del mundo ocurrirá el 31 de diciembre a la medianoche y el único lugar que se salvará de la destrucción será el pequeño pueblo de Eden Valley en Melbourne-Australia. O al menos así lo ha predicho el "profeta" El Original Ned. Por lo que pronto Eden Valley se convierte en el refugio de miles de personas de todo el mundo.
Allí en el medio de todo eso, se encuentran Alba, Grady, Eddie, Tia, Caroline, Peter... y Daniel. Recién graduados de la secundaria y que, en el medio del caos, deben hacer planes para un futuro que ahora no están seguros que exista.
Una de las cosas que más me gustó es el hecho de que Alba sea un personaje fuerte e independiente. ¡Al fin una protagonista que no es la típica chica insegura que tiene que esperar que un chico le diga lo que vale!
“You have a killer smile. You know that, right?” he says.
Well, actually Daniel, I do. My smile is one of my best features. But probably no a polite thing to admit.
“Thanks” I say.
Y, ¿saben que más? Alba tampoco es el típico prototipo de Barbie. ¡Tiene curvas! ¡Y las acepta!
Además la historia tiene un buen toque de humor y la relación de Alba y Grady es una ternura total. También me encantan las referencias a la cultura pop [en este caso mayormente de cómics] que ya caracterizan a Melissa Keil.
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl es una comedia romántica fresca, divertida y sin demasiado drama. Y aunque puede ser un poco infantil por momentos, transmite un buen mensaje y te deja sonriendo. Esta es definitivamente una de esas lecturas feel good.
Ideal si te gustó Life in Outer Space.
February 6, 2016
The incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil and Mike Lawrence is a book that tricked me into liking it. I am a fantasy/sci-fi geek and normally hate the run-of-the-mill-stories about life, love, etc so when I picked this book up I thought it was a graphic novel to read, sci-fi or fantasy one at that. It turns out it is not. I had promised to read it and give an honest opinion so I opened my mind and read. There is no action, battles, fantasy, magic, fight scene, or anything I am accustom to seeing. There is mostly dialogue but some how it creeped under my skin and I was fascinated. The dialogue was humorous, crazy, fun, and sad. One minute I am giggling, the next I had tears! Me, the hardened sci-fi geek! Not fair! The plot was great, the characters were well developed. No, not a lot of action but what was there was purposeful and steady. I have read all kinds of books but never one quite like this. It totally surprised me.
Young adults in a small town, know each other their whole lives, then a big event happens in their town. The end of the world, at least that is the rumor. With it brings a member of their past, a boy. Alba, the girl of the story, deals with all kinds of true feelings of life in a crazy, comic book way. The dialogue is witty and creative. It is slow at first but give it time, it picks up and then you can't put it down. A wonderful book. Listen to me, I would never recommend a book like this normally unless it had aliens, monsters, robots, or supernatural entities. It is a good book without any of this. Great job! I received this book for a honest review from NetGalley and it in no way effects my rating or review content.
Young adults in a small town, know each other their whole lives, then a big event happens in their town. The end of the world, at least that is the rumor. With it brings a member of their past, a boy. Alba, the girl of the story, deals with all kinds of true feelings of life in a crazy, comic book way. The dialogue is witty and creative. It is slow at first but give it time, it picks up and then you can't put it down. A wonderful book. Listen to me, I would never recommend a book like this normally unless it had aliens, monsters, robots, or supernatural entities. It is a good book without any of this. Great job! I received this book for a honest review from NetGalley and it in no way effects my rating or review content.
March 12, 2016
This book was absolutely everything. A Christmas setting where people are complaining about the heat - I live this, and I was still so confused because every Christmas I've read about is set in Winter. A main character who's a fecking comic book nerd. Friends who tell each other that they love each other. An amicable ex situation.
But mostly, it encapsulated everything I've been feeling in regards to my studies. Okay, so I didn't have to move from a rural community to study, but I'm all too familiar with the feeling of not being sure if what I want to do is actually what I want to do.
This was a fun read, but it also made me laugh ("It's not a fart in a lift!") and cry (Spoilers, seriously. Just read it.) and it made me feel a whole bunch of other things I can't quite identify right now. 5/5 - now I need to find 'Life In Outer Space' because if it's anything near as good as Cinnamon Girl, it's going to be fantastic.
I talk a little bit more about it on my channel here. https://youtu.be/Hm4M5u0ZwfY
But mostly, it encapsulated everything I've been feeling in regards to my studies. Okay, so I didn't have to move from a rural community to study, but I'm all too familiar with the feeling of not being sure if what I want to do is actually what I want to do.
This was a fun read, but it also made me laugh ("It's not a fart in a lift!") and cry (Spoilers, seriously. Just read it.) and it made me feel a whole bunch of other things I can't quite identify right now. 5/5 - now I need to find 'Life In Outer Space' because if it's anything near as good as Cinnamon Girl, it's going to be fantastic.
I talk a little bit more about it on my channel here. https://youtu.be/Hm4M5u0ZwfY
March 6, 2018
4.5 Stars
Funny, emotional and real, “The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl” is a brilliant story with one of the best endings I’ve come across to date.
Though it took me a while to really get into it, once I passed the 150 page mark I laughed out loud, cried my eyes out and found myself incredibly invested in these characters and their lives.
Friendship, family, anxiety, uncertainty, angst, art, body confidence, food, frustration, self care, small town love and an impending apocalypse all feature in this remarkable Australian novel.
Funny, emotional and real, “The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl” is a brilliant story with one of the best endings I’ve come across to date.
Though it took me a while to really get into it, once I passed the 150 page mark I laughed out loud, cried my eyes out and found myself incredibly invested in these characters and their lives.
Friendship, family, anxiety, uncertainty, angst, art, body confidence, food, frustration, self care, small town love and an impending apocalypse all feature in this remarkable Australian novel.
February 19, 2015
I really liked this book!
After reading Melissa Keil's first book "Life in Outer Space" I knew I had to read this one!
I really liked Alba as a main character, she was confidant, funny and loved comic books! (which made me very happy)
I really enjoyed all the characters and all the Aussie slang that I hardly see in books these days.
Also it was nice to see a main character who was curvy! That made me very happy!
4.5/5 :D :D
After reading Melissa Keil's first book "Life in Outer Space" I knew I had to read this one!
I really liked Alba as a main character, she was confidant, funny and loved comic books! (which made me very happy)
I really enjoyed all the characters and all the Aussie slang that I hardly see in books these days.
Also it was nice to see a main character who was curvy! That made me very happy!
4.5/5 :D :D
December 15, 2015
3.5* I think if I were to use one word to describe 'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' it would be 'fun'. It was a really fun, cute, quick and easy read. Yet, it had a depth to it which I really enjoyed. A lot of the characters and their plots I could relate to in certain ways which I really liked. A really fun and quirky read! Very enjoyable.
(A free copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.)
(A free copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.)
July 20, 2019
This was mildly entertaining and a quick read, but nothing grabbed my attention here (outside of the minimal art work - that was great!)
The characters were a bit of a bore and the plot itself was pretty lackluster. I'm not sure I'll be picking up another book by this author any time soon.
The characters were a bit of a bore and the plot itself was pretty lackluster. I'm not sure I'll be picking up another book by this author any time soon.
February 26, 2016
**I received a copy of this book from the publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
The Incredible adventures of Cinnamon girl takes place in a small town in Australia, nothing ever happens in Eden Valley until one day a YouTube video goes viral. Ned Zebidiah has predicted an apocalypse and the only safe haven is the one and only Eden Valley.
17-year-old Alba loves her little town in Australia where nothing much happens, however she is at a stage in her life when she needs to make decisions, life changing ones. Alba wishes everything could remain the way it is, her friends and family all in one place as she likes it. Her friends on the other hand have different ideas, the majority of them cannot wait to say goodbye to Eden Valley and see more of the world. With an impending apocalypse, the return of an old friend and decisions to be made, can Alba keep it together?
I really like Alba's character, she is artistic, witty and loveable. She is at the stage of her life when she has just finished school and she has to make decisions about what to do with her life, should she go to college? work? travel? Alba also has curves and a healthy figure which is portrayed in this story really well, there is no self-consciousness with the way she looks, she is confident and it's so refreshing to see this in a YA book especially as the younger audience are so impressionable. Alba also loves to draw and Cinnamon girl is her creation, drawing frame after frame trying to get her image right or the background just so. I have recently started being interested in comics and I loved the idea of someone creating them and the illustrators thought processes. Alba was a great strong protagonist and very relatable.
Grady is Alba's best friend in the whole wide world they have grown up and done everything together. Grady has his flaws like most of the characters in this book but he is such a nice boy, knowing what he wants to do with his life and being there for Alba giving her encouragement with her drawings of Cinnamon girl.
One character I didn't like was Daniel, he just appeared to be egotistical, very self-conscious and a bit of a sleaze. With masses of people flocking to the safe have of Eden Valley, Daniel returns years after moving away and has become a bit of star in TV and is stirring a lot of emotions within Alba and Grady.
This book is so cute, it has a slow burn romance with no love triangle, the writing style is amazing and loved that it was set in Australia. I really like that the book incorporated comics and a few famous comics/names were mentioned such as Fiona Staples and Persepolis. This was my first Melissa Keil novel and have been recommended life in outer space
I recommend this book to anyone who reads YA with a slow burn romance, art/comic content.
Overall I rated this 4 out f 5 stars.
August 16, 2016
3.5 stars
I enjoyed Keil’s Life in Outer Space, and, with a gorgeous cover like this, I was massively excited for Keil’s The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. It’s a solid contemporary, funny and sweet, though I think it’s a bit too brief for how much it tried to do.
There are just so many characters in this slim contemporary novel. Alba has five best friends in her small Australian town. She’s close to her mother too, so she’s important as well. That’s already seven people, without the third leg of her “love triangle.” There’s a reason that a lot of YA heroines are loners with maybe one or two friends: it’s hard to develop such a large cast, especially in a brief contemporary romance. I don’t think Keil quite pulls it off. Each person does have a quirk or two, but I know most of her friends by one or two qualities and that’s it. The only ones who have a plot arc are Alba and her two boys. The rest of the massive friend group put the “support” in supporting, there to help push the ship along.
The plot’s pretty damn adorable though. Alba’s tiny little town, Eden Valley, is put on the map when a weird guy with a failing TV program goes viral for predicting an armageddon from which only Eden Valley will be spared. Obviously, most people take this for the joke it is, but a whole bunch of people begin rolling into the town to party and to survive the impending apocalypse (you know, just in case). This includes Alba and Grady’s former bestie Daniel, now a sexy soap opera star. Against the background of potentially impending apocalypse, Alba’s facing a definite emotional apocalypse, terrified of what happens at the end of this summer as everyone moves on to college or careers. Alba’s afraid of change, but the changes to her little town sort of force the issue. The love triangle plays out really satisfyingly, though it’s not the shippiest book in the world.
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is a cute and fun contemporary novel, if made up of a slightly too large cast.
I enjoyed Keil’s Life in Outer Space, and, with a gorgeous cover like this, I was massively excited for Keil’s The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. It’s a solid contemporary, funny and sweet, though I think it’s a bit too brief for how much it tried to do.
There are just so many characters in this slim contemporary novel. Alba has five best friends in her small Australian town. She’s close to her mother too, so she’s important as well. That’s already seven people, without the third leg of her “love triangle.” There’s a reason that a lot of YA heroines are loners with maybe one or two friends: it’s hard to develop such a large cast, especially in a brief contemporary romance. I don’t think Keil quite pulls it off. Each person does have a quirk or two, but I know most of her friends by one or two qualities and that’s it. The only ones who have a plot arc are Alba and her two boys. The rest of the massive friend group put the “support” in supporting, there to help push the ship along.
The plot’s pretty damn adorable though. Alba’s tiny little town, Eden Valley, is put on the map when a weird guy with a failing TV program goes viral for predicting an armageddon from which only Eden Valley will be spared. Obviously, most people take this for the joke it is, but a whole bunch of people begin rolling into the town to party and to survive the impending apocalypse (you know, just in case). This includes Alba and Grady’s former bestie Daniel, now a sexy soap opera star. Against the background of potentially impending apocalypse, Alba’s facing a definite emotional apocalypse, terrified of what happens at the end of this summer as everyone moves on to college or careers. Alba’s afraid of change, but the changes to her little town sort of force the issue. The love triangle plays out really satisfyingly, though it’s not the shippiest book in the world.
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is a cute and fun contemporary novel, if made up of a slightly too large cast.
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