Review and Giveaway: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Release date: July 11, 2013
Goodreads
Publisher: Dutton
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #2
Source: Purchased
Rating: ALL THE SWOONS EVER. Fabulous characters, funny narration, and... what am I forgetting? OH THAT'S RIGHT. CRICKET FREAKING BELL.



My review of Anna and the French Kiss

The cover: I'm actually really glad they redesigned these covers. The one on the left is the original, and while they did a better job of capturing the protagonists on the Lola cover than they did on the Anna (THE FORGOT THE STRIPE), I still think it's cheesy. Cricket isn't Cricket-y enough, and Lola is kind of... subdued. That wig is a bit halfhearted. But I love the new covers!

The story: I stupid-love Anna and the French Kiss. Like, there are few books out there that make me as happy as that book does. I haven't swooned and giggled over a book like I did with Anna in a long time, and I was exceptionally worried that Lola would always be second best. But to my delight, I found Lola to be an even better book than Anna, even if it didn't have that enchanting, otherworldly quality that Anna had due to the presence of Gay Paree. No, what Lola had going for it was a reality, a sort of grounded eclectic-ness due to the heroine and the setting, the fabulous-as-always San Francisco. It also had Cricket Bell, who is worth all the stars ever.

I kind of felt like this while reading the whole book:

 

(By the way, you can totally read Lola before Anna, but I have the feeling you'll need to read both before the third, Isla and the Happily Ever After, comes out. Call it a hunch.)

Lola: Lola is a girl who is never afraid to be herself, and I loved that about her. She's raised by two dads, and the story with her birth parents is sort of a mess, but her real parents are loving, supportive, and totally strict. I was pleasantly surprised how much of this book focused on family. Lola's parents are a very real influence in her life, just like in most teenagers'.

But let's get back to Lo. Girlfriend made me laugh, she made me feel, she made me want to be styled by her. Seriously, I WISH I had the confidence to dress like she does. Every day deserves a new costume for Lola, and I imagine her looking all kinds of fabulous. Seriously, if I were a man I'd be a proud drag queen, so Lola's over the top outfits and boundless creativity just really appealed to me. She makes mistakes, most notably in her love life and close friendships, but she's always willing to make up for it. She's a character that really grows. She also has heaps of personality and color, which is always a plus.

The boy next door: Cricket. My god, I could write a full fifteen pages on the glories of Cricket Bell. Or possibly a sonnet or twelve. Maybe a few really crummy-but-heartfelt songs (Never had one lesson!). But back to the most important part: Cricket.

 

He used to live right next door to Lola, but he moved away when his twin sister, Calliope, an elite figure skater, needed a new coach. He's sheltered and awkward, having spent time with no one but his twin sister through most of high school, but he's brilliant. Just brilliant.Yes, I know that Cricket is a weird name, but Cricket Graham Bell is also a weird guy. And he's all the more lovable for it. He's awkward, earnest, shy, sweet, brilliant, and I am completely, one hundred percent in love with him.

 
 

Even when he's making a mess of things, he's such a sincerely sweet but also real guy. He's so completely intimidated by Lola. He has no confidence in himself, but at the same time is totally comfortable with himself. He just seems like a guy. But he's so much more special than that.

I don't want to say I love him more than Etienne, but... it might be possible I love him more than Etienne. I DON'T KNOW. Don't make me choose. I can't resist the awkward, gangly guys with hearts of gold. I really can't. Speaking of Etienne, it was a joy to see him and Anna again in this book. I loved catching up and seeing what they're up to (she says like we're all old pals or something. WHICH WE ARE).

Everybody else: I love that every character had some real layers that came to light over the course of the book. Like, you find out there's more to Cricket's somewhat awful, single-minded figure skater sister, Lola's wreck of a birth mom, and Lola's dedicated rocker boyfriend, Max. I loved how casually and naturally Lola's parents were portrayed, which is exactly how it should be. I loved the colorful and loud backdrop of San Francisco. I wanted slightly more from Lindsey, Lola's best friend, but I get why there really wasn't time. This book is about Lola, and it's about Cricket, and I was honestly so more than fine with that.

Once I started this book, I literally did not stop until I reached the end, until Lola got the moon and stars and I was hugging the book to my chest and flopping around my bed like some kind of spastic sea cucumber going, "Ohmigodohmigod."

The resemblance, it is uncanny. IT'S LIKE LOOKING IN A MIRROR.

 Cricket Bell, I would like you (or rather a doppelganger version of you who isn't hopelessly in love with Lola Nolan but with ME) to materialize directly in front of me and run away with me into the night. Because I would. In a heartbeat. I'LL BE HERE WAITING, CRICKET, YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME.



Because I LOVED this boy book so much, and since I love the new cover design, I'm giving away one paperback copy internationally! As long as you've got a mailing address someplace on Planet Earth (or, more specifically, someplace the Book Depository ships to), you're eligible!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Review: 45 Pounds by K.A. Barson

Review: 45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson
Goodreads 
Release date: July 11, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Series: none
Source: ARC given to me by Christina
Rating: Hilarious, heartfelt, and so emotionally true. Anybody who has ever felt self-conscious about the way he or she looks (so... everyone) will be able to relate.



Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.

And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!


The cover: It's cute! It didn't necessarily grab me, and it caused me to pass on requesting this on Netgalley (stupid, stupid, stupid!), but that's my own problem. I love the butter yellow and the two font titles, though I wish you could see more of Ann.

The story: I'm IN LOVE with this book, with the voice, the messages, the plot. Everything It was a super delightful read that's also very moving. Never does 45 Pounds become overly preachy. It's merely one girl's journey towards shedding not just pounds, but her obsession with food and looks and her crippling self-doubt. And most of all, this book is about family. It certainly does promote a healthy way of dieting and dealing with your body, though.

Family: Ann's parents split up when she was two. She doesn't have much to do with her dad's new family, and she feels abandoned by him and her older brother. Her mother has also remarried and has two four-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and Ann lives with them. Her mother, really, is the seat of all of Ann's food- and body-related insecurities (of which there are A LOT). Ann is a size seventeen, she tends to eat for comfort, and her mother's favorite topic of conversation is weight. It's all she and Ann think about, and it seriously takes its toll on Ann.

I loved the relationship between Ann and her mother. It was realistic and semi-dysfunctional. They both clearly love each other, but they both have so much to learn. And it's really only when Ann realizes that her mother's weight obsession is affecting Ann's four-year-old sister that she really decides to make some changes about her mentality. The book also focuses on Ann's relationship to her half-siblings, stepfather, aunt, grandmother, and estranged father and brother.

Self image and health: I can count on one hand the number of YA books I've read with overweight heroes or heroines (The Girl of Fire and Thorns; Holes; The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things; um...) and even fewer that focus on health and weight specifically, which is crazy, because this is America, and obesity is an epidemic and all that lovely stuff. But Barson decided to tackle this hefty topic (ARGH, NO PUN INTENDED), and I have to say she pulled it off perfectly. Ann's logic is twisted and so spot-on. Her insecurities are deeply-seeded, but so brutal and realistic. All her struggles with her weight, and people's reactions to her weight.

Ann: Ann was by far the best part of this book. Her voice is funny and earnest. Her thoughts about herself are so sad, but she says them so funnily. I mean, she won me over by about page five, when she described getting stuck in a dress in possibly the funniest way ever.

She's what makes this book fun. The first half in particular could have been difficult, because Ann lives with a lot of very thoughtless people, some of whom can be outwardly cruel, but because Ann is so delightful, it didn't kill me. Oh, believe me, I felt for her. I was Team Ann from the get-go. This is a girl with flaws that you root for so wholeheartedly, and you want to smack everybody who treats her badly very hard in the face. You want to pull her out of her damaging ways and get her to break her damaging patterns, even when you understand them (I have a tendency to eat my feelings as well, and that is a HARD cycle to break).

I also loved that Ann was not the only fully-rounded character. Ann's friends and even her nemeses had depth to them. I was particularly impressed with the layer to Ann's stepsister, Naomi. There was character development in places I wasn't expecting it. There were struggles with Ann's friends that also felt very real and central to the plot.

A blush of romance: I am usually the girl who ALWAYS wants more kissing, more romance, more swoons, but the fact that this one took a backseat to Ann's personal journey was a good choice. Even though this awkward little romance was the cutest. It felt realistic and fumbly and mortifying, but it also made me squeal. And I love that the guy just honestly sincerely liked her. As her. As she is, as she looks.

Things were wrapped up probably a little too neatly and sweetly at the end, but I didn't really mind. I liked the cuteness. I wanted that after Ann went through such a tough emotional journey in this book. there is the possibility for slight eye rolling with how saccharine it gets, but I was in the mood for that, and it just made me happy. This whole BOOK made me happy. Thank you times a million, Christina, for sending it to me! I'm putting it on the "favorites" shelf. This book's earned it.

Book Haul Vlog (5)

Please excuse my I've-been-sick-and-DGAF hair and inability to English. Just look at the puppy instead. Cute puppy! Cute, DISTRACTING puppy!

 

Books mentioned:

45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson (thanks, Christina!)
Angelfall by Susan Ee (thanks, Alexa!)
A SIGNED Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
ETA: Apparently I wont this from Lili, though I have no memory of this. Thanks, Lili!
Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce (thanks, Ash!)



Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon (Thanks, Zondervan!)
The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (Thanks, Strange Chemistry!)
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White  (Thanks, HarperTeen!)

Worst YA Breakups

Break ups in real life are obviously way worse than fictional ones, but the fictional ones can still really sting. And really, is there any good way to break up with someone? I mean, how diplomatic can you be when you're essentially handing the other person their soul and hearts and guts on a platter and saying, "Sorry about that. I just don't really actually like you anymore"?

 

Anyway, here are a few of the worst ones I know of in YA literature.

Obviously, there be SPOILERS in these waters, so ye be warned.

Bella and Edward from New Moon

You know where I would choose to break up with the slightly unbalanced girl with codependency issues who is incapable of basic life skills like walking and not dying? In the forest. Obviously the best way possible to break up with someone who pledged to kill herself if you ever die, and who has the lowest self esteem in history, is by lying to her and making her feel as shitty as possible and then fluttering off and leaving behind nothing but your glorious vampire scent. Edward, you are a douche.



Bella and Jacob from Eclipse

You know where I would choose to break up with the muscled and friendly werewolf boy who, yes, rape-kissed me until I broke my hand (let it never be said that Jacob didn't at least try to win the Douche Olympics against Edward), but also risked his life to save mine in an epic battle? Why, I'd choose the moment after said battle, when every bone in his body has been broken by a baby vamp and then REBROKEN by a handsome doctor vamp, and he's currently lying in his poky little bedroom in agony and I've just pledged to marry another. That is the moment I would choose to say,

 

Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn/Catherine Howard from Tarnish and Gilt by Katherine Longshore, respectively

Nothing says, "It's not me, it's you," like chopping off a girl's head.

Kai and Cinder from Cinder by Marissa Meyer:

Nothing says, "Thanks for coming to the ball, darling!" like throwing your Lunar cyborg girlfriend in prison.

Harry and Cho from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Cho basically has a freakout about Harry and Hermione being friends, even though they're the greatest non-romantic relationship in history. Then she starts talking about her dead boyfriend and all the other guys who asked her out. While this, technically, wasn't their exact breakup scene (I think the last convo they had was about Marietta "SNEAK" Edgcombe and how Cho has shitty taste in friends), it was the nail in the coffin.

ALTERNATE SHIPPING THEORY: Hedric. Carry. Pottery. OMG POTTERY.

 Harry and Ginny from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry, you know I love you, and I know you're being all noble and self-sacrificing and shit by breaking up with your lady love so Voldemort doesn't kill her (like he's killed EVERYBODY ELSE YOU LOVE), but... Dumbledore's funeral? Is this really the moment to crush her heart? When she's sitting in front of his tomb, and Ron and Hermione are sobbing right next to her, and Hagrid is howling so loudly that only Grawp the giant can comfort him? I bet that made the ride back home on the Hogwarts Express rather awkward.

Kai and Elliot from For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Technically this breakup happens before the book begins, but OOF, is it a rough one. He asks her to run away with him all romantically and swoonily and she...says no. She's ultimately RIGHT (ish), but man, is that cold.

Jonathan and Alanna from The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
JONATHAN YOU COMPLETE JERKFACE.

Aspen and America from The Selection by Kiera Cass
Ugh. So. I have a lot of OPINIONS about Asspen... um, Aspen, rather... but my hatred for this douchebucket was cemented when he crushed America's heart in that tree house before she ever even went to the palace. I'm not the biggest America lover, but that is COLD, BROTHER. Also, it led to America whining and moping for the next two hundred pages, so thanks for that. Asspen.



Nikki and Jack from Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Erroneously accusing someone of cheating then vanishing into a shadowy abyss where monsters feed on your soul for six months is kind of the worst way to end things with someone. Or maybe that's just me.

Jared and Kami from Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
JAAAAAAREDDD WHYYYYY? Why with such coldness, such cruelty? Which did you lie your sensitive little face off and tell her she's NOTHING SPECIAL? Why?



What YA breakups have left you traumatized, or did you think were particularly brutal? I left a bunch off this list, obviously, mostly because I can't remember the details (like, I'm pretty sure Michael and Mia had an awful breakup in one of the Princess Diaries books, but can't for the life of me remember specifics).

Reader's Choice Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Goodreads 
Release date: 2000 (Goodreads won't give up the orginal pub date)
 Publisher: first published by Collins Voyager, then Harper Collins, now Greenwillow
Series: #2 in the Queen's Thief series
Source: Gift
Rating: A fantasy classic and an improvement on the prequel.



Revenge
When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes's Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered...she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.

...but
Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.

...at what price?
When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph, and his greatest loss, comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago...


My review of The Thief

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU SHELVER, not only for requesting I read this, but for BUYING me a copy! You are truly the best blogging bud a girl could have.

The cover: MY GOD, it's beautiful. That rich green and the shiny OMINOUS HOOK and the gorgeous painting... it's even prettier in person, I'm telling you.

Spoilers for book one, The Thief, ahead

The story: I love when a book you've heard nothing but raves about delivers on its promise. The Queen of Attolia, while not perfect, is pretty fan-freaking-tastic. Eugenides is as clever and funny and flawed as ever, only now he's darker. He's suffered through some terrible things, and that lends a wonderful edge to his personality and the story that wasn't there before. And if you thought things were twist-y turny in The Thief, JUST YOU WAIT.

We left Eugenides, Queen's Thief of Eddis and first cousin to the queen, in pretty good circumstances at the end of The Thief. He stole Hamiathes' Gift right out from under the nose of the Queen of Attolia, causing him to become a hero to his people and her to lose face in front of hers. But at the beginning of TQoA, we find poor Gen in a horrendous position. Attolia is forced to make a decision about him, and it's a choice that will haunt her for the rest of the novel.

The biggest change between book one, which I loved but still had major problems with, is that MWT changed her POV. Book One is told in first person from Eugenides' POV, while TQoA is told in third person and jumps between Eugenides, the Queen of Eddis, and the titular Queen of Attolia. Which I LOVED. This choice was brilliant. At first I thought it was a touch distancing (though in CERTAIN HORRIBLE SCENES OF WHICH I CANNOT SPEAK that is a good thing) but by going third person, MWT managed to make her story more epic in scope and add more action. And my goodness, did I love going inside the Queen of Attolia's head. MWT, you genius.



I always say that my favorite part of any story, even fantasies with all their awesome mythology and worldbuilding, is the characters. And while MWT skimps on a lot of details that I like having, she never skimps on characterization. She's a bit difficult at first, to be honest. I almost thought her style was dry, but that's because I wasn't paying attention. There was humor in the dialogue, and the personality was coming through in the things the characters say (and in Attolia's case, DON'T say) and the things they do (or that they wish they did-- again, particularly in Attolia's case). But UGH I love these people, particularly Attolia. Well, and Gen, obviously. And Eddis is also tremendous. And the magus. And... everybody. Because they all have personality, and it's fun. And funny! Books get a million points from me when they have a sense of humor.

But let's focus on the titular Queen, shall we? She's such a complex characters. She's absolutely wonderful to read about. She's a totally layered onion/cake/parfait (though not an onion cake parfait, because EW). She's been twisted by her circumstances, ruling over a difficult country full of disloyal and power-hungry barons, and she's not the person she used to be. Finding out who she really is takes the entire length of the novel, and even at the end I'm not entirely sure. I NEED THE REST OF THE BOOKS. I can't get enough of Attolia.

TWIST. TWISTS, YOU GUYS. Like, I pride myself at being really good at predicting what will come next in a book or movie. It comes from having read 23456779876 novels in my life. BUT. BUT. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT ARE YOU SERIOUS HOLY OLIVE TREES



IT'S PERFECT IT'S AWFUL IT'S GENIUS AND THE BREADCRUMBS WERE THERE THE WHOLE TIME. The plot pulled a fast one on me AGAIN. And this one seriously, truly left me REELING. And then... everything that comes after... I don't want to get into spoilery territory, but Gen continues to make me laugh even when he's breaking my heart, and Attolia continues to fascinate me. FEELS. They come, readers. Oh, do they come. Feels from Eddis, feels from Gen's father, and feels from... A ROMANCE. No, seriously, there is an actual romance in there that surprised the HECK out of me but...!



My complaints would be that a lot of the war is told through exposition, and the section where Gen mopes and hibernates and sulks (or whines, rather, sorry Eugenides) drags. Not that I think the timeline is long, since he's recovering from something traumatic, just that too many pages were spent on his inaction. War breaks out between the three countries of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis, but it all happens off the page, and this information is relegated to the reader in a very boring fashion. I wish that information had been conveyed in a more interesting, dynamic way. But MWT does such a fabulous job of showing the intricacies of war-time politics, the stress of rulers (two female queens duking it out! With the lecherous male king just kind of there), and how sometimes you have to do really crappy things, or things you REALLY don't want to do, in the name of peace (*chuckles knowingly because I just said a THING you won't get unless you've read the book*).

And the VERY best part about finally reading this book is that Shelver won't poke me every time she senses me not reading it!

 

Have an idea of what I should read next? Fill out the form and let me know!

Baking the Books: Butterbeer Cupcakes

Welcome to the first ever installment of Baking the Books, where I bake things inspired by my favorite novels! Since I do a lot of reading and a lot of baking, it was only a matter of time before the two things overlapped. It's just part of my evil plot to get books involved in every single aspect of my life.

For my first Baking the Books, I just had to go Harry Potter. There's never been a fictional word as  deep and full of details as the Wizarding World. Sometimes I feel like I know more about that world than my own, because there's just so much and it's all so visual and creative and amazing. Especially the sweets. I mean, how much do I wish Honeydukes was real? That I could just walk inside and buy Sugar Quills, Fizzing Whizbees, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Cockroach Clusters? (Except not Cockroach Clusters.)

But of all the things in the Wizarding World I most want to try, it's Butterbeer, the drink of choice at the Three Broomsticks Pub. I don't even know what it is, exactly, except that it's warm and rich and buttery and *drools*. Obviously, I had to make a version of it. So: BEHOLD! The Butterbeer cupcake!



It's TECHNICALLY a root beer/cream soda cupcake with vanilla buttercream drizzled in butterscotch sauce, but shh. It's butterbeer. I didn't want to make a cake with actual beer in it, for all the children and teetotalers out there, so I paired vanilla-flavored root beer with butterscotch to get that rich, warm, ale-y flavor without the alcohol. To make it even butterier, they have this thing called butter extract, which is like super concentrated butter flavoring, but I didn't have that. But if you do, you can just add a little teaspoon of that to your batter and make it BUTTERTASTIC.

Ingredients:

Butterscotch sauce recipe:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Root beer syrup:
1/8 cup root beer (I used vanilla-flavored A&W)

Cupcake recipe:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup vanilla-flavored root beer or cream soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon COOLED root beer syrup
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cups vanilla flavored root beer/cream soda (I used the same root beer as above)

Frosting recipe:
1 stick or 8 tablespoons of butter
3 cups powdered sugar (divided), with more as necessary
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whipping cream OR milk, with more as necessary

You should make the butterscotch sauce first, so it has time to cool. This is also the EASIEST RECIPE EVARR, which is cool, because life should be easy.

Put 1/4 cup butter in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan with medium heat. When butter is melted, stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 a cup brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir all together,

 

then let it come to a gentle boil. Cook about five-ish minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

I THINK I ACCIDENTALLY MADE A GIF I MIGHT BE A WIZARD

Let it COOL before you taste it. You know better than to touch hot sugar, right? Life hint: Don't do it. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add more vanilla and/or salt if you think it needs it. Cool to room temperature, then stick it in the fridge (in a container, not just, like, in the big ass saucepan. Unless you really want to). It will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Yes, my container is perhaps a touch too large.

Next you should make the root beer syrup, which is really just root beer stuck in the microwave until it reduces to a thick, syrupy texture. This is also optional, but it will really kick up the rootbeer flavor in the cupcakes.

Put 1/8 cup of rootbeer in a microwavable container and stick it in the microwave on high for about three minutes, or until somewhat thick. Let cool to room temperature.

This is the root beer I used.

I did it with 1/4 cup, which is FAR too much.

Warning: this is possibly the stickiest substance known to man, so don't spill it on your clothes or your walls or something. Not that, um, anybody would ever do that, or anything.

Now... CUPCAKES!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set up your baking sheet with liners. I was out of the traditional paper lines, so I used these:




They're basically the same, only they're silicone and serve as the entire baking dish. They're also damn cute, even though you're supposed to remove them from the cupcakes after they're baked and cooled, so no one but me ever sees them. They're reusable and washable and and eco-friendly! If you do use these, make sure you put a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper underneath, for easy cleanup.

Mix 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.



In a stand mixer outfitted with the paddle blade (or in a bowl with a handheld mixer, but a stand is WAY EASIER on your arms), cream 1/2 cup softened, UNSALTED butter with 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Creaming just means you beat them all together until it's fluffy, for about four to five minutes. Go until it's as thick and fluffy as possible.

Go from this...

To this!

 Next, add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition.

After the eggs are mixed in, add 1 teaspoon of your cooled root beer syrup and mix just until incorporated.

Mix 1/2 cup milk with 3/4 cup cream soda/root beer in a measuring cup. Remember that flour you set aside? Add a third of that mixture into the batter, mixer on medium-low, then half of the milk-root beer mix. Then another third of the dry ingredients. Then the rest of the wet. Then the last of the dry. Mix until smooth. Don't overmix.



Add batter to cupcake wells, filling about 3/4 of the way.

 

Bake for around twenty minutes, though since every oven varies, you should keep an eye on them. Remove when a knife or a toothpick stuck in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.



Let cool completely.



Now it's FROSTING time!

Add 1 stick or 8 tablespoons of softened, UNSALTED butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and fluffy. With mixer on medium low, slowly add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Stop the mixer and scape down the side with a spatula, making sure all the ingredients are being incorporated. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Turn mixer back to medium low speed and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

 

Once incorporated, add 1 tablespoon whipping cream OR milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. You can add milk or powdered sugar to get it to the desired consistency, but it should be pretty stiff, so you can pipe it out. I had to add a touch more cream to get it perfect.

DECORATING TIME!

Obviously, you can take the easy way and just spoon the frosting on top of your cupcakes. Because I never do things easily, I like to pipe it out all fancy. What I do is take a 1 gallon plastic bag, place it inside and fold it over a tall water glass or something similar. Like this:



Okay, that picture is really bad. Essentially, place one corner of the bag at the very bottom, press the bag into the sides of the glass, and then fold the rest of the bag over the edges of the glass. Basically, it props open the bag for you, and created a space for you to plot your frosting.

Spoon the frosting inside, seal the bag, and snip the very tip. Like this:



Then we're ready to pipe! I like to make pretty little frosting swirls like this. Go from the outside in and keep your hand pressure constant.




Next, we drizzle a little butterscotch sauce on top! If your sauce has been in the fridge a while, and is solid, just pop it in the microwave for about ten seconds and it'll loosen up. Don't overheat it. If it's too hot, you'll melt your buttercream. Stick a spoon in the butterscotch and drizzle a little over each cupcake.




And there you have it! Butterbeer cupcakes full of magic and all kinds of fattening goodness. I ate, like, three of these for lunch. They're that good. If you don't want to make the frosting, you can always use a nice, light whipped cream instead, which is really easy to make at home. Just whip some whipping cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add some white sugar and a splash of vanilla, and beat till fluffy. Voila.

 


Hope you like Baking the Books! If you have any ideas or suggestions about what I should make next, let me know in the comments!

Best and Worst Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love movies way, way too much to limit myself to ten either way. Once again, I'M CHEATING BUT OOPS. I have no regrets.

Best

A Room With A View

Bleak House
A SUPER DUPER long miniseries that I'm still in the middle of, but it's tremendous. 

Pride and Prejudice (1995 BBC)
While this is the cream of the crop for BBC miniseries (excepting the other one down below and the one above), I could have put ANY BBC adaptation of almost ANY novel. Seriously. YOU MUST WATCH THEM ALL. They can cute men in tight pants with sideburns. They're perfect.

Jane Eyre (2011)


Though the BBC miniseries with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens is also sublime, I'm a sucker for the Fassbender. Mmm. Fassbender.

The Princess Diaries

Harry Potter
Doesn't matter which. Pick you favorite and that's the best (except don't pick 1 or 2 because... seriously?)

Bridget Jones' Diary
 

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
THIS MOVIE. It is so cute and romantic and it deserves so much more attention.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Sense and Sensibility

I Capture the Castle

Anne of Green Gables
GILBERT BLYTHE.

The Wizard of Oz 

The Princess Bride
 

Coraline

Alice in Wonderland

Howl's Moving Castle
 This is possibly my favorite of all of Hayao Miyazaki's films, and that's saying something. It's also even better than the book, which is ALSO saying something.

The Secret Garden and A Little Princess
 My two FAVORITE movies growing up. Even though A Little Princess takes some plot liberties (I also had a fabulous miniseries adaptation of it as a kid that was VERY true to the book).

To Kill a Mockingbird

North and South
LOOK BACK. LOOK BACK AT ME.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy 

Stand by Me
 

Hugo


Holes

The Witches 

Matilda
Perfect movie about a bookworm braniac with braniac powers is perfect.

Little Women
 I used to watch this movie every Christmas. Not with my family, or anything. Just myself. Because I love it THAT MUCH. Also CHRISTIAN BALE AS LAURIE. How in the hell do you turn down CHRISTIAN BALE AS LAURIE, Jo?!

The Neverending Story
 

More like the neverending list of movies.

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging

The Hunger Games
Not a perfect adaptation, I don't think, but still dang good.

Honorable adult-y book mentions: The Godfather, Schindler's List, Children of Men, Fight Club, True Grit (both films), Atonement, The Big Sleep.

Because I am trying to be a more positive person, I will only eviscerate a few of the terrible book-to-movie attempts out there, even though (be assured) I loathe at least dozens more. I'm capable of a lot of loathing.

Worst

The Golden Compass
A big, expensive waste of a fabulous novel.

The Great Gatsby (1974)
 Eveybody is sweating in this movie. It's the truth. I don't know why they made that particular creative choice, but they did. Everybody's sweating, everybody's miscast, and nobody can pull off the time period. Every time Robert Redford says "old sport" you want to punch him in the mouth.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The animated version is perfect. The live action version is putrid.

The Scarlet Letter (1995)
HOT FREAKING MESS. While ostensibly starring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman, the spotlight is stolen by both Demi's anachronistic and un-puritanical cleavage and her accent of undetermined origin. Also, there's a scene in the bath? For some reason? And there's this big thing at the end that never happened in the book? This movie is hilaribad. It would make a good drinking game.

Eragon
Not even John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons could save this.

SORRY FOR ALL THE MOVIES. I just couldn't limit myself. Anyway, leave me your links if you have them! Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks?