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The Saturday Cooking Club #2
The Icing on the Cake
Turning thirteen isn’t looking lucky for Liza—and even the kitchen isn’t a refuge—in this second book of the Saturday Cooking Club series.
Liza’s big plans for a small birthday celebration with besties Frankie and Lillian don’t stand a chance against a guilt-giving force of nature: her Nana Silver. As the girls attempt to regain control from a grandmother with way-too-grand ideas, they also try to find the right recipes for their own happiness. Frankie decides to remake herself in the image of Lillian’s high-achieving, “perfect” sister Katy, while Lillian tackles the puzzle of how to understand boys. And Liza whips up plans to use Nana’s extravagant birthday bash to try get her parents back together—despite the obvious simmering between her mom and Chef.
Can the girls rise to the occasion and salvage Liza’s party without scorched feelings? Or will turning thirteen be far from a piece of cake?
Liza’s big plans for a small birthday celebration with besties Frankie and Lillian don’t stand a chance against a guilt-giving force of nature: her Nana Silver. As the girls attempt to regain control from a grandmother with way-too-grand ideas, they also try to find the right recipes for their own happiness. Frankie decides to remake herself in the image of Lillian’s high-achieving, “perfect” sister Katy, while Lillian tackles the puzzle of how to understand boys. And Liza whips up plans to use Nana’s extravagant birthday bash to try get her parents back together—despite the obvious simmering between her mom and Chef.
Can the girls rise to the occasion and salvage Liza’s party without scorched feelings? Or will turning thirteen be far from a piece of cake?
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2015
5 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Deborah A. Levine
4 books14 followersDeborah's writing for children, adults, and everyone in between has appeared in books, magazines, and online. She lives, works, eats, and occasionally cooks in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, two kids, and two cats.
Deborah's books include The Saturday Cooking Club #1 - Kitchen Chaos (Aladdin, 2015), Parker Picks (Simon & Schuster, 2002) and Love Miscellany (Skyhorse, 2012). She is also the director of marketing & communications for the global education network, Teach For All, and was the editorial director for Nickelodeon's award-winning website, Nick.com, for over a decade.
Deborah's books include The Saturday Cooking Club #1 - Kitchen Chaos (Aladdin, 2015), Parker Picks (Simon & Schuster, 2002) and Love Miscellany (Skyhorse, 2012). She is also the director of marketing & communications for the global education network, Teach For All, and was the editorial director for Nickelodeon's award-winning website, Nick.com, for over a decade.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 22, 2015
Icing on the Cake is a delightful read about three girls from NYC who are going through changes as they move into their early teens. My daughter and I enjoyed getting to know Liza, Lillian and Frankie as they dealt with first crushes, a perfect sister, overbearing grandmother and divorced parents. These friends are so likable and easy to care about as they support each other, push each other to take chances and gently tell each other some of the important truths about their families i.e. that Liza's parents will never remarry and that Lillian's perfect sister might not be so happy. I especially enjoyed that the girls were racially diverse. My daughter, and her friends long for fun, light, meaningful books that have diverse characters Mostly, Icing on the Cake was just a perfect fall read and I thank Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to review it for an honest opinion.
September 17, 2017
4/5 stars
September 8, 2018
This sequel was so great with trying to make everyone happy to being happy yourself. Venture with the girls to cooking class 2.0
December 19, 2016
*This is a review of two Aladdin Mix titles: The Icing on the Cake and You're Invited Too.
The Icing on the Cake is the second book in the Saturday Cooking Club series and You’re Invited Too is the sequel to You’re Invited. In The Icing on the Cake, Liza is about to turn thirteen and her grandmother, Nana Silver, is desperate to throw her a big fancy party, the thought of which makes Liza hugely uncomfortable. As she and her friends Frankie and Lillian look for ways to get out of the terrible party, they also begin to attend another of Chef Antonio’s cooking classes with their moms… and some cute boys. While Lillian struggles to make sense of a crush, Frankie begins trying to reinvent herself in the image of Lillian’s practically perfect sister, Katie. You’re Invited Too returns to Sandpiper Beach where the girls of RSVP - Vi, Sadie, Lauren, and Becca - have just stolen a wedding client away from Sadie’s mom. Unfortunately, Alexandra Worthington is a real Bridezilla, and the girls soon find themselves overwhelmed by her ridiculous demands. As Sadie handles the majority of the bride’s phone calls, Lauren frets over her slipping grades, Becca worries about her new braces, and Vi faces a mean girl in school who keeps teasing her about her dad’s new job as the janitor.
Both of these books are appealing to middle grade girls because they offer something for everyone. Each girl in each group of friends has a distinct personality and her own special interests and abilities, so it is likely that every reader can find at least one character to whom she can relate. The interactions between and among the girls are also compelling, as they bring to life the friendships and struggles that are common to all middle schoolers. Each book also presents a hopeful outlook on life, which asserts that good friends can help girls rise above all the drama of middle school life, including relationships with boys, bad grades, and mean girls.
Of the two books, The Icing on the Cake has somewhat stronger characters, while You’re Invited Too has a more memorable setting. Because there are only three girls in the Saturday Cooking Club series, I felt like I got to know each one a bit better, while the four characters in You’re Invited became a bit difficult to keep track of, especially when they each had such specific individual problems going on. Sandpiper Beach, however, is practically a character unto itself, and by the end of You’re Invited Too, when bad weather threatens the town, I could almost imagine being there myself, and I had a good sense of where things were located and who the significant townspeople were. While I can picture Chef Antonio’s kitchen, I honestly kept forgetting that Icing on the Cake is set in New York.
Both these books are quite lengthy, but neither is a laborious read. The breezy tone of each chapter and the fact that the point of view shifts frequently keep the stories moving quickly, and there is a never a sense that nothing is happening. Some readers might have trouble buying the fact that three tween girls take multiple classes from a celebrity chef, or that four tween girls can run an event planning business (that one was a stretch for me!) but most will appreciate the escapism of reading about these unlikely situations. Both of these books will be eagerly devoured by readers who have enjoyed previous Aladdin Mix titles, especially Kitchen Chaos, You’re Invited, and At Your Service. Other books like these about groups of friends include The Snob Squad series by Julie Anne Peters, the Nerd Girls series by Alan Lawrence Sitomer, and The Darlings books by Melissa Kantor.
The Icing on the Cake is the second book in the Saturday Cooking Club series and You’re Invited Too is the sequel to You’re Invited. In The Icing on the Cake, Liza is about to turn thirteen and her grandmother, Nana Silver, is desperate to throw her a big fancy party, the thought of which makes Liza hugely uncomfortable. As she and her friends Frankie and Lillian look for ways to get out of the terrible party, they also begin to attend another of Chef Antonio’s cooking classes with their moms… and some cute boys. While Lillian struggles to make sense of a crush, Frankie begins trying to reinvent herself in the image of Lillian’s practically perfect sister, Katie. You’re Invited Too returns to Sandpiper Beach where the girls of RSVP - Vi, Sadie, Lauren, and Becca - have just stolen a wedding client away from Sadie’s mom. Unfortunately, Alexandra Worthington is a real Bridezilla, and the girls soon find themselves overwhelmed by her ridiculous demands. As Sadie handles the majority of the bride’s phone calls, Lauren frets over her slipping grades, Becca worries about her new braces, and Vi faces a mean girl in school who keeps teasing her about her dad’s new job as the janitor.
Both of these books are appealing to middle grade girls because they offer something for everyone. Each girl in each group of friends has a distinct personality and her own special interests and abilities, so it is likely that every reader can find at least one character to whom she can relate. The interactions between and among the girls are also compelling, as they bring to life the friendships and struggles that are common to all middle schoolers. Each book also presents a hopeful outlook on life, which asserts that good friends can help girls rise above all the drama of middle school life, including relationships with boys, bad grades, and mean girls.
Of the two books, The Icing on the Cake has somewhat stronger characters, while You’re Invited Too has a more memorable setting. Because there are only three girls in the Saturday Cooking Club series, I felt like I got to know each one a bit better, while the four characters in You’re Invited became a bit difficult to keep track of, especially when they each had such specific individual problems going on. Sandpiper Beach, however, is practically a character unto itself, and by the end of You’re Invited Too, when bad weather threatens the town, I could almost imagine being there myself, and I had a good sense of where things were located and who the significant townspeople were. While I can picture Chef Antonio’s kitchen, I honestly kept forgetting that Icing on the Cake is set in New York.
Both these books are quite lengthy, but neither is a laborious read. The breezy tone of each chapter and the fact that the point of view shifts frequently keep the stories moving quickly, and there is a never a sense that nothing is happening. Some readers might have trouble buying the fact that three tween girls take multiple classes from a celebrity chef, or that four tween girls can run an event planning business (that one was a stretch for me!) but most will appreciate the escapism of reading about these unlikely situations. Both of these books will be eagerly devoured by readers who have enjoyed previous Aladdin Mix titles, especially Kitchen Chaos, You’re Invited, and At Your Service. Other books like these about groups of friends include The Snob Squad series by Julie Anne Peters, the Nerd Girls series by Alan Lawrence Sitomer, and The Darlings books by Melissa Kantor.
March 1, 2016
The girls from The Saturday Cooking Club are back with The Icing on the Cake, a new story that has them whipping up sweets in the kitchen and thinking about romance in their lives. Liza would love to see her divorced parents get back together again. And she believes that her thirteenth birthday party, which her Jewish grandma insists on throwing for her in place of a bat mitzvah, is the perfect opportunity. Frankie and Lillian are both attracted to boys in the cooking class, but they’re not sure how to tell if the boys like them.
As the girls go through life they learn how to compromise on important issues, speak up for themselves when they need to, and above all, value their friendship.
In their cooking class they learn how to make yummy sweet and savory pies and French-style galettes, cakes, and more. Just reading about the class is enough to inspire you to cook for friends, family, and your book club. Fans of Kitchen Chaos are certain to love The Icing on the Cake. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12.
The author provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
As the girls go through life they learn how to compromise on important issues, speak up for themselves when they need to, and above all, value their friendship.
In their cooking class they learn how to make yummy sweet and savory pies and French-style galettes, cakes, and more. Just reading about the class is enough to inspire you to cook for friends, family, and your book club. Fans of Kitchen Chaos are certain to love The Icing on the Cake. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12.
The author provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
September 20, 2015
Icing on the Cake is a delightful read about three girls from NYC who are going through changes as they move into their early teens. My daughter and I enjoyed getting to know Liza, Lillian and Frankie as they dealt with first crushes, a perfect sister, overbearing grandmother and divorced parents. These friends are so likable and easy to care about as they support each other, push each other to take chances and gently tell each other some of the important truths about their families i.e. that Liza's parents will never remarry and that Lillian's perfect sister might not be so happy. I especially enjoyed that the girls were racially diverse. My daughter, and her friends long for fun, light, meaningful books that have diverse characters Mostly, Icing on the Cake was just a perfect fall read and I thank Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to review it for an honest opinion.
January 9, 2016
Initially I didn't like the book much - I felt that Liza was an entitled whiner. And I also thought the cooking part was a throwaway. But the more I read, the more I enjoyed it. And by the end I really cared about the characters. So I'm glad I continued. I'm wondering if this happened solely because this is the second book in the series and I haven't read the first.
April 5, 2017
Almost as good as the first!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews