Rachel Cohn is terrific. All YA writers should be so unpretentious and spin such good yarns. ( )

Quite possible the best teen book I've ever read. Pure poetry. ( )

I loved Nick & Norah's infinite playlist and read some of David Levithan's book, which I also liked, so I wanted to read something by Rachel Cohn.

The book disappointed me.

The characters are boring (the protagonist included), the story lacks suspense and is pretty obvious from the beginning. If it wasn't that short, I wouldn't have finished it at all. Won't read the sequels for sure.

The protagonist, a childish, friendless and troubled teenager, that doesn't get along with her mother and talks to her doll. Her thoughts revolve around boys and sex, which I find annoying for a 15 year old.

I didn't like the writing either, which lacked the sort of musical power that Nick & Norah's infinite playlist had.
( )

Cyd Charisse is a 16-year-old rebellious, eccentric, rich girl with raging hormones. Her mother and step-father don't know what to do with her. When she pushes the envelope too far with her boyfriend, they end up sending her from home (San Francisco) to spend a few weeks with her biological father, whom she has never really known, in New York City, where she also has a half brother and half sister who didn't even know she existed.
Cyd is a sympathetic and likable character, in spite of herself, and as the book progresses, she slowly becomes more likable, as she learns a few lessons in life, and helps a few other people learn their badly needed lessons as well. ( )

Spoilers, don't read this. The main character, Cyd Charisse, is an asshole. She treats her family like crap. Cyd used to date a rich guy, but he was a worse asshole than she was, and it didn't work out. She dates Shrimp, a weird surfer dude, but she has a crush on his older brother. She gets a job, but ruins it because she's too busy whining and lusting over her boyfriend. Her mom sends her to meet her biological father, a typical workaholic New Yorker. Oh, and she's the product of an affair (I think?) so he's kind of embarrassed of her and sort of leaves her at home to her own stupidity, and she gets in tons of trouble. It has a happy ending. It was a really good book when I first read it, about ten years ago (yikes), but I tried reading it again last year and it wasn't as good. I think it's because it captures the annoying "teenage rebel" phase so well that once you're older, it's kind of like... jeez dude, just give your mom a hug and stop being a douche. ( )

If Cyd Charisse were to live on a commune in say, Tahiti, it would include her surfer boyfriend Shrimp; her best friend Sugar Pie, and of course her rag doll Gingerbread. They would all drink coffee and eat gingerbread cake and ride dolphins on the ocean. But Cyd Charisse doesn’t live on a commune. She lives in San Francisco with her parents Sid and Nancy and goes to an “alternative arts school” which is really just a dumping ground for rich kids who aren’t total misfits. Life with Sid and Nancy is no bed of roses, but at least Shrimp, Sugar Pie and Gingerbread keep her sane. But when Cyd Charisse’s parents ground her for spending the night with Shrimp and then Shrimp himself dumps her, she more than ready to leave them all behind and escape to New York City for the summer to meet her real dad and her half-brother and sister. Cyd Charisse’s visit to New York doesn’t turn out at all to be the summer she expected...but maybe it was just the one she needed.

This is like an R-rated version of Spinelli's Star Girl.
I found this for a quarter at the library and bought it for my classroom library. It was in my car at a moment when I had some down-time away from home. I figured it'd be better than nothing, but it turned out to be quite a gem. This would have been my all-time favorite book had it existed when I was in high school.
***Spoiler Alert for teachers & parents****





Teenage protagonist (age 15?) is promiscuous & has an abortion. ( )

For Cyd, living with her step dad Sid and mother Nancy and her younger half siblings in San Francisco is more an a nuisance than paradise. Her richly decorated home, stylish mother, lenient stepfather and her relationship with her new “awesome” boyfriend Shrimp are slowly crumbling up into a black hole that she has dug up in her past, the spoiled relationship with her then boyfriend Justin who got her hooked on his dark lifestyle and got her pregnant without giving her any support. After her life changing decision to write her own future Cyd becomes even more witty and sarcastic on quest to fix her broken relations with her parents, Shrimp and her biological father in New York. Her last memory of him was when she was five years old and him giving her a doll that she named Gingerbread. The visit to the East coast opens her eyes in more ways than she has imagined and it's up to her to either find the light or slink away into the shadows with no helping hands to pull her up.

The writing was easy to read and made the book flow. I enjoyed the brief glimpse of Cyd before she was with Shrimp and how her current situation started. “This book is like a nice, light slice of cake; it's no dinner but still fills you up.” I recommend this book for mostly girls, it is a very risky book but it keeps ones attention well. ( )

Cyd Charisse is not having an easy life. She is completely relatable to any teenager. Being a teen and growing up is not a smooth ride for anyone and Cyd doesn't pull any punches.

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn is a book about a 16 year old name Cyd Charisse. She is a very strange girl. She has a doll named Gingerbread that she takes everywhere. She got is from her Dad when she met him for the first time when she was 5. Her parents were never married and he r dad lives in New York City while her mom lives in San Fiasco. She lives with her mom and Step-Dad and does not really like them. Cyd Charisse has also stolen from surgical supply stores!
This book was ok. It took a long time for me to like it. It started getting really interesting in till chapter 18. It was mostly about her past to get into the story. But going over the past was not like the beginning of the story remembrance it was more like a summery from another book. This book was not all bad. She had a lot of details and I really liked the ending. I thought it was very interesting to see how close she was to this doll. The doll was the only thing she had from her Dad and she missed her dad so the doll Gingerbread was the only thing she had from her Dad. ( )

Educators, proceed with caution with this first-person, realistic fiction account of teen pregnancy and abortion. Those events are not exactly front-and-center; this hi-lo read focuses more on a teen girl’s coming-of-age in a complicated family, which includes a biological father who’s been absent most of her life and half-siblings she’s never met until now. The pregnancy and the abortion happened before the story began, and its emotional repercussions are felt throughout the book at a pretty subtle level. Still, those are the taboo topics that will get kids whispering and perhaps parents worried. Be prepared to justify inclusion of this book in a classroom collection. Certainly its biggest defense is that it will appeal to struggling readers, especially those who are driven to keep up appearances. It looks like an average-size novel, but the font is slightly larger, there is plenty of white space left around the type, and the chapters range from a single page to, typically, not more than four or five. The reading level is upper-elementary/lower-middle school, but the content suggest it's suitable for older readers. ( )

Gingerbread is a story about growing up, and ultimately a very optimistic book. The narration remains light-hearted in the face of serious issues, while still acknowledging complexity. The characters are portrayed as good, despite all their mistakes.

Recommended for anyone who needs something truthful but pleasant.

This was one of those books that my best friend recommended I read by way of pressing it into my hands at the library. I loved the cover art and how edgy it felt, because at the time I was really starting to explore different genres of fiction, trying to get myself away from all the fantasy. (That failed by the way.) But this book doesn't stick out to me. I have no interest in rereading it, I have very few memories of it, and there was nothing spectacular. I suppose it was good, but in all honesty I can't even remember what the story was really about, other than a girl with attitude. ( )

Gingerbread is a very high interest, quick read book. The quirky narrator is Cyd Charisse, a teenager who has definitely seen a lot of trouble. She carries a doll around, has had an abortion, has a potty mouth and daddy issues. Cohn does a great job with voice in this book. Charisse is hilarious and a free thinker, and sounds just like any teenage girl you may hear telling stories in the hall at school. It feels as if she is a good friend, telling you a story—with a little embellishing along the way. She has a lot of flaws, and she is not afraid to tell you all about them.

This book is probably written at about a 5th grade reading level, but it is definitely not appropriate for elementary school. There is quite a lot of cussing, talk of an abortion, and on page sex. I get a lot of reluctant high school readers in the library that “have” to get a book for SSR Mondays at my school. Whenever I recommend this book, they come back asking for more. This book is like a chick book for bad girls. Technically, it is the sequel to Cupcake, but it definitely stands alone. ( )

Told in first person voice, Cyd Charisse details her life as bad girl, rich girl, unfulfilled girl who comes to some terms after spending 3 weeks with her absent-most-of-her-life father. While terminology and syntax is both amusing and sure-to-be-appealing to teens, the holes in the novel keep me as mixed up as Cyd - if her stepfather was so doting, why did she feel so much like she was abandoned? When did Cyd and Nancy stop the bonding that promulagated Cyd's notion of bad-girlness? Furthermore, the abortion issue, the crux of the entire novel, was handled flippantly. Cyd's biggest beef was HER sense of abandonment when Justin couldn't find the time to escort her to the clinic? What does the reader glean from the idea that because Nancy had a little support she decided to keep her baby (Cyd) whereas Cyd went through with it? While this book hints at more serious issues, I found myself getting tired of reading about "poor rich oversexed bad girl."

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn is the story of a troubled teenage girl named Cyd Charisse. She's had a tough past with her ex-boyfriend Justin, but Cyd pushed it away with a new boy toy named Shrimp. Only problem is Cyd's mother disapproves and forbids Cyd to see him. Instead of keeping her at home, Cyd is shipped off to her biological father in New York. She finally gets to meet her half family. When Cyd was born, her father was still married and wouldn't leave his current family. Cyd now gets the meet the people her father left her for.
Gingerbread is a great story of how a family can come together after years of secrets. Putting the past behind, new relationships can be formed in wasy never expected. Sometimes you don't relaize how much you love and milss someone until the truth finally comes out. ( )

Thought this book was not long, I fell in love with Cyd Charisse and can not wait to see what happens in the next 2 books. ( )

Not my favorite teen book. Seemed a bit too morally vacuous, which left me feeling unsatisfied at the end. The characters were very likeable, however. I will continue with the series. ( )

I think I am a very forgiving person... at least when it comes to books. I usually say that I really liked x and y about such and such book but I was a bit miffed by z.

This book has left me miff-less. No miffing to report here.

Short and sweet - the book... not at all the main character. But, the absence of "sweet-ness" in Cyd Charisse is probably one of the things about her that endears me to her.

The premise: The book is about this girl who carries around a doll named gingerbread which her real dad gave her at the airport one year and she’s kept it ever since for a reminder of her dad who she never sees.

My thoughts: Rachel Cohn's definitely got a cool style going for her in her writing. This is the first book of hers that I've read but I have watched Nick and Norah... and I will read the next two books about Cyd Charisse Shrimp and Cupcake to test out my theory. But it goes something like this: Illustrate a moment in time for a character and make you feel the impact of the moment, don't drag it on forever, make it short and simple, but include enough backstory to add dimension to the character... and make 'em irresistable. ( )

Rachel Cohns book the gingerbread is a book about a spoiled girl named
Cyd Charisse, who carries around this doll named gingerbread which her
real dad gave her at the airport one year and she’s kept it ever since
for a reminder of her dad who she never sees.
Dominique Thompson ( )

Gingerbread
by:Cohn, Rachel

Have you ever become rebellious or hated your life because your parents arent marrried or together.This is what Cyd had experience after discovering that her parents werent married also she havent seen her dad since she was five years old after then the onlything she has of him is a doll name Gingerbread.Cyd had experience a lot of things for example she got kicked out of her school,she had a broken heart , and she has a lot of problems with her mother. well i recomend this book because is a very good book also beacuse theres a lot of teenagers that had experienced what cyd did. ( )

didn't really enjoy this one. i would much rather re-read "nick and norah's infinite playlist." ( )

Citation: Cohn, Rachel. (2003). Gingerbread. New York: Simon Pulse.
Grade Level: 7th-12th grades
Category: Realistic Fiction/ Dystopia
Read Alouds:
Pages 1-6
This gives the reader an introduction to the main character and also lets us know the inner battles and lets us know what lies ahead.
Pages 41-44
This section gives the reader a real taste of Cyd’s life with Shrimp.
Pages 74-75
The meeting of Cyd and Frank-dad.

Summary: Cyd is a troubled teen. She was kicked out of a wonderful boarding school her parents forced her to attend and was stuck back in San Francisco with her folks. Her mom and step dad weren’t exactly happy with all the choices she was making, including her choice in surfer dude boyfriends, so they sent her away. Cyd was going to live with her biological father for the first time. The last time she saw him she was 5, and now at 16 she wasn’t exactly the ‘angel’ her new family envisioned. Cyd had dreamed about living with them her whole life, but she wasn’t exactly what they imagined, it was an uphill NYC battle from there. Cyd didn’t let the battle get her down, she found herself and realized that her mistakes that she hid weren’t so bad after all.
Theme: one prevalent theme is finding ones self through the madness of life itself. Cyd had to push through clinic visits, a meeting with a new family, a job, seeing the ex and then coming out on top of her game. She gave me strength and vision to see through the outcast lifestyle.

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe that Cyd was an outcast? Was it by choice, or because of outside forces?
2. Cyd hid a horrible event in her life from her parents, why do you think that was besides the getting into trouble factor?
3. In the end that made the most mistakes, please use quotes from the text and include a compare and contrast of the characters.

Reader Response: This would be a great book to pair with Speak! This book was about a young teen struggling to find her niche in the world and in the end she finds compromise with the people she loved from the beginning. I really enjoyed the references to the doll “gingerbread in the book. Cud was also a well-developed character with a lot of pizzazz, which Melinda in Speak is a polar opposite of. ( )

I absolutely loved this book. At times I could relate to Cyd Charisse, but at other times, it was mass chaos that was just plain entertain. I am in love with this entire series... although I haven't read Cupcake yet...o.O ( )

As I listened to this book, I remembered my own uncertainties as I survived adolescence. I found myself laughing out loud. I enjoyed reading this novel and plan to read the other two in the series. ( )