hvbh_g 's review for:

A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
3.0

Cupcake Brown's narrative is very readable; her voice is unique. If there's a flaw, it's not in the use of slang, but that she tells her story in a way that suggests that she expects to shock the reader, but her story, though horrific and at times difficult to read, does not particularly shock me. I find the lack of oversight in the California foster system, especially for black children, in the 70's, the social expectation for low income teens of color in poor neighborhoods to join gangs, and her descent into addiction to crack cocaine very believable.

However, the book was about 100 pages too long. Many of the anecdotes become repetitive over time. It feels like she tells them only to make the reader clutch their pearls. How many times can you clutch pearls?