Gingerbread bills itself as “edgy,” with cover quotes from Teen People, Elle Girl, and Twist magazines rather than other authors, and a cover featuring a punky girl with platform boots. But it’s basically your average finding-yourself novel: Cyd hates living with her mom and stepdad, so she acts like a brat until they send her to her “Bio-Dad,” where she learns about her past and becomes more comfortable with her present and future. Sure, she’s a little “wild,” and — ooooh — she makes out with a guy who’s too old for her, but it’s really all pretty tame.
Despite the totally generic plot, something about the writing stuck with me. It has a strong sense of place (San Francisco and New York), which is a kink of mine.
Plus I got caught up in the Francesca Lia Block-esque stream-of-consciousness:
I thought about it on the plane ride home to San Francisco, my new ultra fantastico tribute commune to all things ginger…. Sid and Nancy will chill on the whole scene because we will serve them ginger tea laced with mellow vibes, and just the thought of all those gingerbread-house colors will keep Nancy occupied, coordinating peppermint-stick patterns and LifeSaver-stained glass windows, and will keep Sid-dad on his toes, worrying about cost overruns and labor laws.
Yeah, ok, it’s totally overwritten — but can’t you just taste those ginger-flavored LifeSaver windows?
Anyway, it took me awhile to get into it — mostly because I couldn’t tell whether the book was going to admit that Cyd was being a brat — but I ended up enjoying it in spite of myself. Ooh! And apparently there are sequels!
8 responses so far ↓
1 Justin // Apr 17, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Ummmmm Am I cynical because I think the author named characters Sid and Nancy just so they could pay homage to punk rock over and over again?
2 Sam // Apr 17, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Not at all, my friend. Not at all.
(In fairness, literal punk rock was never a theme. But overly obvious “edginess” was.)
3 Sam-la // Oct 18, 2008 at 11:44 am
[...] to photograph ourselves dressed up as a book character or cover. We have a Professor McGonagle, a Gingerbread, a Goodnight Moon, and a Twilight. [...]
4 Barbie S. // Nov 17, 2010 at 8:26 am
I love this book! I am actually doing my english 2 book project on it! :)
5 Review: Vintage Veronica, by Erica S. Perl // Dec 7, 2010 at 9:09 pm
[...] A “warning” or two: the writing style would work for middle schoolers, but there’s a lot of swearing and frank talk about sex. (There’s even a scene of female masturbation! You have no idea how happy this makes me. It’s ridiculous that this is still so rare in YA, but I think this is the first time I’ve ran across such a scene since Judy Blume’s infamous Deenie. (Veronica, you will be relieved to know, is a modern girl despite her clothes — she does not at any point refer to touching her “special spot.” Hee.)) I’m thinking this would be good for fans of Rachel Cohn’s Gingerbread. [...]
6 Becky // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:43 pm
I read Gingerbread for the first time as I was entering middle school at the age of twelve. Now, a college student living in a whole different world, I can still open the book to any page and dive right in. Cyd Charisse is a character who any young girl can relate to, trying to figure out who she really is. She is somebody who I looked up to; an overwhelmingly strong girl who is living day by day and learning from her mistakes. This book has been close to my heart for years and always will be. The sequels, Cupcake and Shrimp, were harder for me to enjoy, because I hate to think of Cyd’s life changing. The world around me is forever changing, but Gingerbread is always the same.
7 Sam // Mar 27, 2011 at 6:51 pm
That’s such a lovely way to put it. I know that feeling so well, with books I grew up with. Thanks for your comment, Becky!
8 Skylar // Apr 21, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Im doing my book report on this. It was amazing and i related to it quickly. A girl with long lost family trying to find herself in love and trouble. Im excited to tell my class about this book!
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