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Sign up todayThe Heartbreak Bakery
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Learn moreTeenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.
“What’s done is done.” Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s getting undone.”
Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies … breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it.
Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.
A.R. Capetta (all pronouns), the author of Echo After Echo and The Lost Coast, has lived in Austin and worked as a professional baker and holds a master of fine arts in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A. R. Capetta is married to author Cory McCarthy; they live in Vermont with their young baker.
Reviews
“Capetta’s groundbreaking romance makes magic by centering queer and trans characters and relationships…[who] are allowed to experience joy, fall in love, and break up…This book proves a necessary addition to the young adult romance genre.”
“Syd, who is agender, is an expertly constructed protagonist and a notable step forward in representing the full spectrum of gender identities in YA fiction. Syd’s earnest musings about gender, bodies, performance and identity are likely to resonate deeply with teens who’ve shared those thoughts and experiences.”
“The story involves equal parts romantic comedy, heartfelt explorations of queer identity, and mouthwatering descriptions of baked goods…a tasty romance with subtle hints of culinary magic.”
“LGBTQ+ characters take center stage in this work…While outright bigotry is not shown, Syd’s life demonstrates the difficulties of having to explain one’s orientation and gender and the burden of feeling unheard.”
“The best books come with a sprinkling of magic and a whole lot of heart baked in, which is precisely the case with this new A. R. Capetta novel.”
“Like the contrasting flavors in a peach strawberry basil pie, Syd's journey of self-discovery melds perfectly with the quest to find and repair the brownies’ damage. Suspend your disbelief in everyday magic and enjoy this frothy, fulfilling confection with a lemon ginger scone and a tall, chilled glass of iced green tea.”
“Every scene involving magic baking is pure perfection, and the romance is as mouthwatering as Syd’s recipes, all of which will make readers want to pull out a bowl, a baking sheet, and a sprinkle of their own magic.”
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