Frosted Kisses

Gr 7–10—Named for her dad's favorite Beatles song, Penny Lane lives in Hog's Hollow with her mother and grandmother. Following her parents' separation in The Cupcake Queen (Dutton, 2009), Penny is now navigating her way through their divorce and her father's excuses for not visiting her. Yet she remains distracted by the plans of her animal-loving, artistic best friend, Tally, who plans to save the local animal shelter by doing odd jobs for neighbors and friends. One of their clients is the mysterious bachelor Dutch, who just arrived in town and provokes bouts of rage from Penny's grandmother. As Penny tries to solve that mystery, Tally suddenly becomes distant and moody. Though initially Penny thinks that Tally's problems are the result of the mean girl Charity's escalating bullying, it becomes clear that Tally is struggling with something far more hurtful than the comments and glares from Charity and her minions. Things only get worse when their new friend Charlotte returns to the mean girl group and the new student, Esmerelda, appears to be wooing away Penny's almost-boyfriend. Reading the first book isn't absolutely necessary, but the purchase of this companion novel should be predicated on the successful readership of The Cupcake Queen.