100 Days of Cake

Gr 10 Up—Molly, a senior, grapples with love and life changes in this contemporary YA title. Molly adores her job at FishTopia—she gets to watch reruns of Golden Girls episodes and hang out with her crush, Alex. Veronica, Molly's sister, is younger and seems to be hanging out with the wrong crowd, while their mother embarks on a new obsession, which is to make one cake a day for 100 days. The protagonist struggles to balance a slew of abrupt changes: FishTopia is set to close its doors for good, Veronica and Alex appear to be dating, and Dr. B., Molly's therapist, becomes too close for comfort. Molly, endearingly likable, strives to save her sister, her workplace, and her relationships in this angsty novel. The cake motif, forced into the narrative at random, feels out of place until the very end, when everything coalesces into an "aha!" moment. This book's mature themes—cursing, sexual situations, and an underage relationship—make this a good fit for older teens.