Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy

Publisher: Penguin Australia
Pub. Date: 27 April 2009
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 228
Format: paperback
Source of copy: from publisher - Penguin Aus

The new bestseller from teen queen Cathy Cassidy.

Anya used to dream of moving to Britain to start a brand-new life. But as she sits in a school where nobody understands her, she dreams of Polish summer skies and the place where she once belonged.

Then Anya meets bad boy Dan. He's no angel, but she's sure there's a sweeter side to him. And when things begin to fall apart, Anya realizes she's not alone - how can Dan be such bad news when being with him feels like heaven?


I finished Angel Cake in three hours. It was fast, simple, one for readers who love happily-ever-after kind of books. Want to take a break from painfully realistic stories? This one will make a good cheer-upper.

The book was inspired by one of Cathy Cassidy's fans whose family left to settle down in a new country. The story followed Anya from Polish to England where she found her visualization of a whole lovely life turn out to be nothing but a dull picture: her father's business was going down, the teachers thought she was clueless, her schoolmates considered her something fun to look at. Added to that was the fact that Anya was falling for the mysterious boy Dan - who, for a second, could be amazingly sweet, and the next one, more indifferent than ever. There was nothing new but because it came from a real experience, Anya's story felt close and easy to take in.

Frank to say, I wasn't very impressed with Angel but I don't have any problems with the story either. The only weakness of this book, in my opinion, was that the characters were typical. They reminded me of other characters I've encountered in other books, that was why I didn't feel the need to read on anymore sometimes. Anya was a sweet, adorable kid but the fact that she was too naive and meek put me off. Lily, the mean girl, was too familiar - spiteful comments, bullying actions, deceiving plots weren't enough to make her strong or remarkable. The only one that stood out must be Dan, thanks to his inconsistency.

Regardless of that flaw, I enjoyed this book to a degree because it was so cute. Every, even the crisis, seemed very light-hearted. Angel Cake would be a good choice for winter books because it made me feel very warm inside. Too good to be true as it was, the story helped lighten the readers' views of life - that miracles happen sometimes and anyone can be an angel, even if it's a icy guy who sets fire on his notebook and hangs out with a bunch of bad ones.

Recommended to fans of everything-will-be-okay-in-the-end novels.


Rating: 3/5