Rating: Summary: An awesome book for a picky bookworm! Review: This book is so perfect for an teenage girl. It has enough drama to keep anyone interested. It deals with sex, family issues, divorced parents, some homosexuality (although not with the main character Cyd Charisse), and it can be just flat out thought provoking. The narrator tells the story in modern language using hip terms and slang that are fun to read. It gives the book a relaxed feel but Cyd Charisse deals with so much in her life in such a short time. I've read this book at least 5 times. I'm 16 years old and I cannot say enough what a greatpick this book is. Cyd Charisse is a pretty typical teenager, in some ways. She was kicked out of boarding school, doesn't really know her real father, is promiscous, and goes through many life altering things throughout the novel. The book doesn't get too graphic with sexual content, but does deal with issues for teens 13 and up. Abortion is discussed, as well as dealing with a gay brother and a sister who doesn't want you. But, all's well that ends well and I'm wishing for a sequel.
Rating: Summary: Special, unique characters Review: Add a rebellious teenager named Cyd Charisse to parents named Sid and Nancy. Throw in a biological father on another coast, a brooding surfing/artist boyfriend whose brother runs several fine coffee shops, a tarot reading best friend in a nursing home, and a doll named Gingerbread -- all that, and you're still not going to get a good story unless the author knows her stuff. Even a splash of a hot-hot-hot ex boyfriend and a boarding school scandal won't do it, unless the author knows how to capture characters on the written page. This, gentle readers, is an incredible book by a fabulous author. While Cid in "Gingerbread" isn't quite one's typical teenager (she's got a bit more money than most), the trials and tribulations are incredibly real with this obviously brilliant character. There are no minor characters in this book; everyone is very much alive. I first heard of Gingerbread, which is mentioned in a chapter of the 2002 Children's Writers & Illustrators Market (available on amazon.com). The description is good enough that, instead of going to another library to do research on homework this weekend, I made a trip to a library with a children's and young adults' room specifically so that I could take this book off the shelf to read. I read it in under two hours. (It was a welcome relief from legal tomes! Furthermore, even though I'm now going to have to spend Sunday in the law library, meaning that I won't have any days off, giving up an afternoon to read something THIS delightful was worth it.) This book will make a unique gift for a teenage girl or boy who isn't quite as angelic as the Bobbsey Twins -- or perhaps for the parent of such a young adult. I am desperately hoping for a sequel, and I'm in my early 30s.
Rating: Summary: great book Review: Gingerbread is a great book about a girl who hasn't seen her dad since she was a kid. when she finally does see him again every thing is different. Read this book
Rating: Summary: Wow, a great read! (review by: hunt_seat) Review: Cyd Charisse, is a normal 16 year old "hellion" who lives with her mother and step-father, 2 younger siblings, and ofcourse this books name-sake: Gingerbread The Doll. Now I must admit the reason I bought this book was it's cute cover but, once I started reading it I was hooked. Rachel Cohn isn't one of those authors who "attempts" to write a book from a teenagers view and fails, she really made me believe it was just a teen telling a story. Not many adults can do that and still keep you entertained. Anyway, the book takes you through a couple of months of Cyd's life where she is thinking about some descions she's made, dealing with having a crush on her boyfriends older brother, and along with many other exciting things meeting with her bio-father for the first time in a few years. Gingerbread is the only real link she has to her father, since he gave her to Cyd when she was 4 at the airport. That is why she is so special, to Cyd< who's name is pronounced the same way as her Step-Father Sid. Hehe! Now I'm not going to tell you anymore because it is a great read and you should buy it and find out for yourself!
Rating: Summary: Gingerbread Review: Gingerbread is a novel about Family. It is based on a bastard child and her futile effort to fit in while still standing out. She hangs out with an elderly woman who reads tarrot cards and a boy nicknamed Shrimp for his small stature. The book goes over Cyd Charisse's (main Character)pregnancy and abortion and also goes into being part of a family.
Rating: Summary: Really Different (in the best way possible) Review: I was extremely excited to see Gingerbread at the library ... I started it last night and finished it this morning and loved it. ...Cyd Charisse is a 16 year old who's had sex, lived across the country from half her family, and just experienced life completely differently from me. But she's a great character that you grow to care about with her coffee obsession and her boyfriend Shrimp that you want things to work out with. She has some more serious issues with the dad she's never known, and the boyfriend who abandoned her when she was pregnant. Ever constant is Cyd Charisse's special perfect place where she would like to retreat to..it's interesting to see how this place changes as her life changes. All in all there is a happy way it all comes together, but I'm hoping for a sequel because I love the author's style of writing! Anyways, I might not be articulating this well, but go read it because it may be a quick read, but it also really makes you smile and think about the little things in life!
Rating: Summary: Short and Simple Read Review: Right from the start, the reader knew that Cyd was troubled. Partly because she was living among a mother who obsessed over her weight and image. She was kicked out of a boarding school for drug possession and involved with a spoiled rich kid who served her, and himself little, if any purpose. She creates a world for herself that doesn't deal with reality because she is too scared to confront it. She surrounds herself with Sugar, an elderly woman and her boyfriend Shrimp, the only two people she can count on. Her rebellious behavior sends her to New York to visit her real father and his family. She finds that their world is different from hers. His children are grown and live their own lives. She will never let go of Frank, her father, for not being a part of her life. But she does learn something about herself and the people that is surrounded by. Cyd's rebellious behavior was a result of secrets that had been kept from her and the secret that she had kept from her mother. She was afraid of what others might think of her. Going away was good for her because she needed to assess herself. Things don't always stay the same. Cyd needed to embrace change and see that it's not all bad.
Rating: Summary: SO REAL!!!! Review: This narrator sounds exactly like a teenager, like you're camping out in her mind and you can hear all her thoughts. It's so real it was like reading a book by one of my friends. Almost eerie in a way. I couldn't put it down, I read it really fast because it's just so good. Other books with real teenage narrators: Feeling Sorry for Celia, An Egg on Three Sticks, Shadow Baby.
Rating: Summary: Gingerbread Review: Gingerbread is a novel about Family. It is based on a girl named Cyd and her futile effort to fit in while still standing out. She hangs out with an elderly woman who reads tarrot cards and a boy nicknamed Shrimp for his small stature. Shrimp is her current boyfriend, who has been through everything with Cyd, even when her old boyfriend Justin got her pregnant and she had to go to her biological father for the money to get an abortion. After struggling with her parents (Sid and Nancy) to get along, she gets sent to her biological father's home where hopefully she will find who she is. She meets her half-siblings Danny and Lisbeth. In the beginning, Danny is the older brother Cyd has always wanted and needed and Lisbeth is not very understanding of Cyd. Later in the story, however, Lisbeth warms up to Cyd. After realizing how much Lisbeth struggled to be nice to her, Cyd decides it is long past the time when she should warm up to her mother. The book ends with Cyd admitting to her mother that she was pregnant and had an abortion, which begins a new relationship between the two.
Rating: Summary: I'm being generous Review: This book just isn't worth the read. The author and the cover/reviews try to get you hooked on this book because it's about a girl who is "different". She isn't one of those preppy teens but that's just what she is. Cyd Charisse (main character) says that she "isn't like them anymore" but she's still boy-crazy and still letting guys "play around" with her. The story is the same old crap, a girl who wants to go and find her long-lost father but then he's not what she expected. Do yourself a favour and DONT READ THIS BOOK!
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