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Gingerbread Paperback – June 1, 2003

by Rachel Cohn (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 133 ratings
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In this “funny and irreverent” (School Library Journal, starred review) debut novel, Rachel Cohn, coauthor of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, tells the story of a spirited, rebellious, and teen in New York City for the first time.

After getting tossed from her posh boarding school, wild, willful, and coffee addicted Cyd Charisse returns to San Francisco to live with her parents. But there’s no way Cyd can survive in her parents’ pristine house. Lucky for Cyd she’s got Gingerbread, her childhood rag doll and confidante, and her new surfer boyfriend.

When Cyd’s rebelliousness gets out of hand, her parents ship her off to New York City to spend the summer with “Frank real-dad,” her biological father. Trading in her parents for New York City grunge and getting to know her bio-dad and step-sibs is what Cyd has been waiting for her whole life. But summer in the city is not what Cyd expects—and she’s far from the daughter or sister that anyone could have imagined.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    172 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 2003
  5. Grade level
    9 - 12
  6. Reading age
    14 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    5 x 0.6 x 7 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    068986020X
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0689860201
  10. Lexile measure
    960L
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Why You'll Dig it: Likeable Cyd will seem like one of your buds." ― Twist Magazine

"[This] is not just Another Teen Novel: It's pretty edgy." ― ELLEGIRL

"Cyd Charisse embodies the child/woman nature of adolescence as she tows her doll, Gingerbread, through life." ― Kirkus Reviews

"[A] funny, bicoastal story of a dysfunctional family. All high school and public libraries should add the irrepressible Cyd to their shelves." ― VOYA

*"[Cyd's] magnetic narrative will keep readers hooked." ― Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"Funny and irreverent reading with teen appeal that's right on target." ― School Library Journal, starred review

"Any teen who loves wit and language is going to devour this." ― New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Like its heroine, this coming-of-age story is smart-mouthed and testy." ― Horn Book

"[Appeals] to more sophisticated teenage girls with a taste for romance and drama." ― KLIATT

*"Cyd's interactions with other characters in the colorful cast are the stuff of authenticity: her and her mother's volatile relationship is one of the most realistically depcited in YA literature, while her sweet, affectionate connection to hernewfound older brother shows Cyd at her best. This is a sparkling authorial debut featuring a memorable YA heroine." ― BCCB, starred review

"[Teens] will recognize themselves in Cyd's complex, believable mix of arch and vulnerable, self-aware and self-destructive, and also in her struggle between freedom and the protective safety of family." ― Booklist

About the Author

Rachel Cohn is the bestselling author of You Know Where to Find Me, Gingerbread, Shrimp, Cupcake, Pop Princess, and, with David Levithan, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, and Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares as well as the tween novels The Steps and Two Steps Forward. Born in Washington, DC, she graduated from Barnard College in New York and has lived on both coasts. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit her at RachelCohn.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 172 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 068986020X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0689860201
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 960L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.6 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 133 ratings

About the author

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Rachel Cohn

Rachel Cohn

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The great wish of my adolescence was to be diagnosed with scoliosis. Then I would be like Deenie. I LOVED the book "Deenie" by Judy Blume. I wanted to look like Deenie; I wanted her disease; I even wanted to live in Deenie's town, Elizabeth, New Jersey, a short hop from my dream destination, New York City. Although now that I live in Manhattan as an adult (with a fairly normal spine, I'm told), Elizabeth, New Jersey is more known to me as the place with the long lines at IKEA instead of as the hometown of Deenie. Like Deenie, my priorities eventually shifted.

I never did get that scoliosis diagnosis, but from my favorite childhood authors such as Judy Blume, E.L. Konigsburg and Ellen Conford, I did get inspiration for another goal: to write. I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to create stories. When I started seriously writing fiction, I didn't set out to write specifically for young adults, but as my writing matured, it became clear that when I got stuck writing in teen voices, it was a good place to be stuck. The author question I get asked most often now is how I am able to write from the perspective of a teenager, as if I were in that character's head. The honest answer is, I don't know. I try not to think about it too much, for fear of ruining it. But I do feel like I can readily channel my own teenage self and tap into those feelings, and that's something I try to convey through the written word.

When teen readers write to me now telling me how much they relate to characters I've created -- Cyd Charisse in "Gingerbread" and "Shrimp," Annabel and Lucy in "The Steps" and "Two Steps Forward," or Wonder in "Pop Princess" -- I think, I relate, too: I wanted to be Deenie!

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
133 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Natalie Chatman
5.0 out of 5 stars Love!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2022
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I read this book multiple times in middle school around 2007 and forgot the name, so I have been looking online for years for it. I finally found it! I absolutely adore this book!!
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tallymark
5.0 out of 5 stars Literally couldn't put it down
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2010
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This book was wonderful. I got the book really fast which amazed me. Anyways, Cyd is one very strange girl to me, but if i met her I think she'd be one of my best friends. See gets into a lot of "trouble" in the book which is why I couldn't put it down it was very, very entertaining. Literally the day I got it I started reading and didn't go to sleep until 5 in the morning when I finished it. Two thumbs up!
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Kasia S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Life is full of frogs, you just have to learn to jump over them
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2008
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When one thinks of Gingerbread, heady spices and molasses-like sweetness comes to mind, the book however was a literary equivalent of Angel Food Cake - fluffy, light and sweet enough to entertain but not overly filling. It's something that I can read in one sitting and then get up without a headache, possibly ready to begin the next book in the series. Young Adult fiction has come a long way, reading books about disgruntled sixteen year olds are certainly easier than being one all over again and even though I am no longer a teen I certainly remember how tough it was. Standing strong against the ripping winds of corruption and negative influences while dealing with feelings for boys, parents and especially how I saw myself was no walk in the beach and even though I had a blast growing up I am relieved to be done with it.

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 step father 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 cynical, witty, sarcastic and sometimes warm and human on her 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, carrying it with her to this day. 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 mystery of her parents split, her other half siblings and potential new boys are lined on up the horizon for the reader to grab onto and enjoy. It's all up to her whether she wants to grow up and change or act like a spoiled brat.

The writing was easy to read and made the book flow like an express train. I enjoyed the brief glimpse of Cyd before she was with Shrimp and how her current situation evolved. This isn't deep fiction but a fun romp though pages filled with growing pains and emerging roots of maturity. I'm all ready reading the sequel "Shrimp" and cannot wait to find out what happens when Cyd is back in San Francisco after her life changing summer in New York. This book is like a nice, light slice of cake; it's no dinner but still fills you up.

- Kasia S.
2 people found this helpful
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Amanda Rousseau
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021
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Good book
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Funny Lady
5.0 out of 5 stars Rachel Cohn is Fabulous
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2014
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Granted I'm well beyond the age of her average reader. I truly think every teenager should read at least one or two of her books.
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Jodi Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2013
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It's very interesting and I'm Completely glued to it. I admire the concept of this book. Complete worth purchasing. It's a must read
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Muggle-Born
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun contemporary novel but MC is a bit hard to relate to
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011
After a plethora of dystopian fiction, I wanted a light refreshing and quick read so I decided to pick up GINGERBREAD. Other than reading a few other Rachel Cohn novels, I had no idea what to expect before I picked this one up.

Initially, Cyd Charisse is one protagonist who makes it very difficult for readers to like her. Cohn's voice is authentic and shines out amidst other contemporary novels, but Cyd Charisse is a bit whiny and annoying. She's also difficult to relate to because she is a bit spoiled and childish. Throughout the whole novel, I tried to guess exactly how old Cyd was. Cohn might have mentioned her age in the novel, but I would think that she is around 15 - 16. Cyd also has a tendency for rebellion and it had been only a matter of time before she is shipped off from San Francisco to meet her biological father in New York City.

Since the novel is a bit old for contemporary standards, it could be the reason why I had a rough time getting used to the way Cyd spoke. Is it a west coast thing? Because I don't think I ever grew up talking the way Cyd did, but maybe that's just something that is completely unique to her.

There are a handful of secondary characters in GINGERBREAD, and of them all, Danny and and Aaron stood out to me the most. Danny, Cyd's half-brother, is an excellent cake decorator and co-owner of a little cafe in Greenwich Village with his partner Aaron. The cake part was enough to win me over, but the fact that he and Aaron make the cutest couple made me yearn for more scenes with the two of them!

The novel did not stand out to me until Cyd Charisse got to New York City. There is something about the way Cohn writes about New York City. She captures the city through the eyes of a teenager just right and it makes me want to cross over the Hudson River right at that moment so I could wander through the streets and find a little cafe to read. The writing came alive in the second half of the book.

There are mentions of sex and teen pregnancy in the novel, but there is nothing vulgar or obscene about it. There are no racy scenes so this book will be appropriate for teens of all ages. This novel is recommended to those who love contemporary novels with spunky female leads, fans of Cohn's novels, and lovers of New York City.
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Brittany
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it since 2003
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017
I have read this book over and over again since I was 12. I am 25 now and just reread the series and it brings back so many great memories. This is definitely a great purchase for any teenage girl
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