This is Heather Hepler's first solo novel. Everything else that she's published has been done with her long-time writing partner Brad Barkley. The novels she's written with him have focused on main characters who feel completely isolated and who spend their time interacting with incredibly quirky secondary characters. She brilliantly employs those same techniques here. Tally is obsessed with Rock, Paper, Scissors. There's a scale model of the solar system being built (in secret) in the middle of the woods. The adults in the novel frequently have names resembling food. The quirk is there in full force, and it's a lot of fun to read.

Since a good portion of the novel takes place in the bakery, and given the title of the book, cupcakes play a pretty big part. Penny frequently runs the counter and is frosting baked goods. She designs all of the cupcakes, including triple chocolate mudslides that look like real mudslides. The descriptions of the baked goods are very interesting. Hepler paints incredibly detailed pictures of Penny's creations. They sound beautiful as well as delicious. It's these cupcakes that originally allow Penny to develop her artistic talents, allowing her to find her niche in the small town. She begins to excel in her high school art class, and her journey as an artist is firmly linked to her acceptance of being away from the city.

Of course, there is also a cute boy who spends a lot of time on the beach right behind her grandmother's house, and he provides a good reason for Penny to find some redeeming qualities in the small town she despises so much at the beginning of the novel. For a long time, she wavers between wanting her old life back and enjoying the life she's currently living. Penny wants her family back together. She wants to walk down the city streets and be surrounded by people. But she also relishes the charm that exists out of the big city. And she comes to love (most of) the people she meets. When she finally has to make a choice near the end of the novel, it's much harder than she anticipated.

I really loved this book. I loved Hepler when she wrote with Barkley, and I love what she's done here as well. I'm really looking forward to more solo projects from her. She's one of those writers who knows how to make you really care about her characters, and I don't think anyone could be disappointed with this book.