Rowena’s review of Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler.
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances… a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.
So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life… and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last…
I’ve been wanting to read this book for, forever and I’m so glad that I finally got around to it. This book starts out with leopard print bras, tension filled car rides and walking away from things that you’ve always had in your life…and that’s all in the prologue. When I started the prologue, I kept right on reading despite the fact that I was at work and it was still early in the day. Long before lunch time. But man, I couldn’t bring myself to care because that prologue started off a book that I really came to love.
Hudson Avery is an ex-figure skater who walked away from the world of ice skating when her parents marriage fell apart. These days, you’ll find Hudson baking delicious cupcakes in the kitchen of her mother’s diner. She’s made a name for herself in the town that she lives in as the Queen of Cupcakes (which confuses me with the cover of the book since…I don’t ever recall Hudson baking cookies in the book but whatever) and each chapter of the book begins with one of Hudson’s cupcake recipes. When Hudson walked away from ice skating, she walked away from it all. Her coach, her best friend and well, you get what I mean. Now she’s got a new best friend and she’s trying to help her Mom stay afloat in the food service business by baking cupcakes and filling in wherever she can. Her Mom is now a single parent, since Hudson’s father took off and lives with hundreds of miles away.
This is one of those coming of age stories that makes you smile, makes you laugh and makes you sigh with contentment. It’s a story about a young girl who is dealing with loss, with first love and with finding out how to be happy again.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was such a wonderfully put together book with a story that stayed with me long after I finished it.
The love interest in this book was adorable and just perfect for Hudson. Hudson is a normal teenager so of course she made mistakes and decisions that made me want to smack her a time or two but in the end, it was all good. She learned some life lessons and she found a way to make herself and those around her happy and I was glad.
This was a good book, one that I’ll be recommending to my daughter to read. She’s just starting to get into reading and this is one of those books that I just know she’d enjoy…and I’m sure anyone else would too. I definitely recommend.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
This book is available from Simon Pulse. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.
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