Cupcakes & Camp

Mia in the Middle #1

by Coco Simon

Mia tries to sweeten the disappointment of spending summer away from her friends in this first book in a brand-new middle grade Cupcake Diaries spin-off series!

Mia plans to spend the rest of her summer hanging out with her Cupcake Club friends and her fashionista friends in Manhattan. Who knows, maybe she’ll even be able to meet up with her crush, Aaron—the possibilities are endless. That is, until Mia’s mom tells her she’s going to sleepaway camp.

Now, Mia has to spend the rest of her summer away from her friends, with no phone, and in an itchy uniform. The whole situation is enough to make even the most easygoing baker salty. Can Mia find a way to mix in some fun?

Genres: Middle Grade

Audible Audio

Published March 17, 2026

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

[Ms. Yingling]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Mia, one of the main characters in The Cupcake Diaries, is devastated that she has to spend time away from Maple Grove and her friends Katie, Lexie, and Emma. Her parents are going to be busy with work, and her stepbrother Dan is not old enough to watch her over the summer. She's whisked off to a camp upstate where she finds to her absolute horror that no phones are allowed and there is an ugly, polyester uniform that she has to wear instead of her fashionable attire! Her mother claims that if she had told Mia about these things, she would have refused to go. Mia is glad to see her best friend from Manhattan, Ava, at the camp, but Ava is standoffish when Mia doesn't remember that Ava was going to attend the camp. There's no soccer, but Mia is put into archery and swimming, since she is athletic. She makes a few friends in the enthusiastic Jade and Sasha, and does have a few opportunities to show off her fashion knowledge. Eventually she and Ava reconcile, and there are more camp adventures planned, with Home is Where the Cupcake is due out May 5, 2026.
Strengths: It's always interesting to see tweens being put into new situations where they have to make friends and draw upon their inner resources to navigate life without parents. The camp had the usual outdoor activities, as well as crafts, counselors, and MUCH better sounding food than I got at Camp Kiwatani! There's some light friend drama, and Mia even learns to write letters. Of course, her friends in the Cupcake Club don't write back often, but they do eventually, and assure her that she is missed.
Weaknesses: Obviously, Coco Simon is a pen name, but I wonder if a different writer wrote this book. It seemed different from the original Cupcake Diaries, Sprinkle Sundays or Donut Dreams series. On a practical level, since I have twenty of the Cupcake Diaries books that rarely get read after book five (I really, really liked all of them!), I am reluctant to purchase a new series about the same characters.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed camp stories like Sloan and Wolitzer's To Night Owl from Dogfish, Montague's Camp Frenemies, or Moskowitz-Palma's Camp Clique.

Would parents really spring summer camp on a child four days before the camp started? Don't kids WANT to go to camp? They are expensive! And not tell them there was no technology? What camp has uniforms? I had a lot of questions, but this might be because the book I wrote in 8th grade was about summer camp!
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase]]

Cupcakes & Camp is the first book in the new Mia in the Middle middle grade series by the author of Cupcake Diaries, Coco Simon. Known as the new girl in school who’s fiercely independent, young readers can dive into stories about friendships with Mia at the center.

In Cupcakes & Camp Mia finds out, really last minute, that her mom has signed her up to attend Camp Evergreen for the summer because there is no one to watch Mia while her parents have to work. With big plans already made with her Cupcake Club friends and her NYC friends, Mia is incredibly frustrated by this turn of events. It only gets worse when Mia arrives at Camp Evergreen and finds out they have a no cell phone and uniform rule. Used to being the fashionista of her group of friends, Mia tries to add her own flare when she can, while also being forced out of her comfort zone at every turn.

This book is only 160 pages long, my arc copy is actually a bit less, Cupcakes & Camp is a really fast read. I liked that Coco Simon used emotional regulation techniques within the text to highlight boundaries and the emotions felt throughout the story. They’re subtle but I felt they added a layer to the story when considering how Mia had to forgive her mom and let in new friends. Also, during the camp chapters, each chapter ends with a letter either to a friend from Mia to from her Cupcake Club friends, which I felt provided a really solid summary on how that day/chapter went for Mia.

The theme of friendship can be found throughout from how the Cupcake Club reacted to Mia’s news about Camp Evergreen to her meeting Jade, Sasha, Lindsay and reconnecting with her NYC best friend Ava. This isn’t a cookie cutter story where everything is instantly sunshine and rainbows, which I think is super important for books in the 8-12 year old range because that is when they experience a lot of social changes.

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted ARC.

[Lori]

In CUPCAKES & CAMP, Mia is crushed when she finds that instead of hanging out with her Cupcake Club besties she’ll be spending her summer at sleepaway camp in the woods. She packs her bags and heads off for camp. Upon arrival, fashionista Mia is greeted with an itchy camp uniform and forced to turn over her phone. To make things worse, she finds that her best friend from her previous school is also at the camp but doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with Mia. She’ll need to figure out how to find her place at camp and repair her relationship with her friend.

Stories about like this with a focus on friendship and fitting in are always welcomed by middle grade readers. The book moves at a fast pace and clocks in at 160 pages, making it accessible for striving readers and others looking for a quick read. With its fun main character and supporting cast in a reader-relatable camp setting, this book will have lots of fans, especially with the connection to the popular Cupcake Diaries series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing an eARC of the book with me.

[Vicky]

Mia is looking forward to spending the summer with friends and making money with the Cupcake Club until her mom says she’s going to a sleepaway camp. Mia is not happy. Because she missed the first session of camp she’s worried everyone will have already made friends. When she gets to the camp she finds no cell phones allowed, and she has to wear a scratchy uniform. Mia begins to make friends and joins the swim team which she loves. She ends up swimming at their medley relay and does well. To celebrate she says let’s make cupcakes, and the others help her. In the end, Mia is glad she went to the camp. This is the first book in the Mia in the Middle series.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Katy Lovejoy]

Cute quick read

[Pumpkin Spice Retrograde]

Currently read

[Dara]

Mia in the Middle is a spinoff from the Cupcake Diaries series, which I have never read. I did feel like I was joining in the middle of a series, but this one is about Mia, who has to leave her friends at home and make new ones at sleepaway camp. Mia makes new friends by getting involved in activities at camp like art and swim team. She sends letters to her friends at home, which serve as end of chapter round ups. I found the dialogue to be a bit awkward in this, but I imagine young readers would enjoy the book, especially if they attend summer camp like Mia.