This story is big on nostalgia. The wonderful descriptions of the edibles available in Auntie Winifred’s bakery did have my mouth watering in anticipation. The adventures of Frances, her brother and their two cousins transported me back to my childhood and some of the innocent mischief my siblings, cousins and I could get up to when we would all gather at Grandma’s for an extended family visit. The descriptions of Auntie Winifred’s apartment over the bakery filled with old furniture as a play area for the cousins is one filled with the magic of childhood imagination.

A heartfelt story of childhood memories, the enduring bonds of family connections and how both shape our lives, even later on in life as adults. ( )

I loved this sweet endearing short story. I felt a sort of connection to the characters. I do wish it was longer though. ( )

This is the such a sweet short story. It tells the story of a group of a brother and a sister and there cousins. They are very close when they grow up and the stand big together. It is written in a lovely way. ( )

This is a short story about four youngsters, a sister and brother and their two cousins. They all hang around together growing up and spend a lot of time in their Aunt’s bakery. She calls them “cupcakes”, though she never does explain why she gave them the nickname, though asked several times. This book is really a coming of age book. The book has great descriptions. The characters are endearing, especially their Aunt Winfred who owns the bakery. The shortness of the book does not allow for much character development, but the reader can get the idea of who every character is and could be. It might be worth the author’s time to develop this story and its characters into a longer book, if the book is done as well as the short story is. The other thing that I found difficult to take about this book is the fact that, though a coming of age story, there really was no plot to speak of. A short story is short, but, based on what I have read, short stories can have a plot. Without a plot, this story left me kind of flat. I kept hoping there would be more, but found only a snapshot of the four youngsters with some interactions with their aunt. Since I received this free from Library Thing in return for a review, I had no problem. However, I suspect someone who pays for this book may feel a bit cheated after reading it. Short stories are not easy to write, since an author must put a setting, characters and a plot or story line into such a compressed space. This could and has been done quite successfully with these three items. The author could develop a better, definite plot in future short stories, as this may lead to better reader satisfaction and great reviews. I suspect that is why some reviewers felt wanting after reading the story. ( )

A very well written coming of age short story that had a good plot. The author makes you feel like you are part of the story. Cute quirky characters called "Cupcakes" provide for some interesting characters. I really liked this short story by Daniel Kelley. ( )