Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Bake Believe is a quirky book for tweens. If you, or your child, are interested in baking, this is the book for you. There is a recipe with every chapter. There is also some magic sprinkled throughout. I can’t wait for the sequel.
Reviewed by @mimimadge
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper – Review by Maryn Belling
Lo que importa es el corazon.
In 1 sentence that’s what grown ups need to know when choosing this series opener for the middle-school readers in their lives. Figuring out your role in the world can be complicated; this is like a more relatable version of Encanto – sorry no arepas recipes 😎 but there IS an awesome family rule: No Gremlin Faces!
I read this book trying to decide whether to give it to my 6th grader sobrina who loves baking & sports. At the outset, I wasn’t sure if the “cute boys” elements were going to be age appropriate for her, but the family, baking, and recipes definitely are. I’ll still leave it up to my comadre whether or not this series is okay “from Nina” or if it’s gotta wait til 8th grade. What’s really cool especially for my sobrina is that the author was raised in Arizona.
Also the author has the best descriptions – both for moms AND middle schoolers!
“From the look on my mom’s face, a person would think I just told her I stole an endangered monkey from the zoo and turned it into a robot, obsessed with eighties music.”
Who doesn’t know THAT look from her mom 😹😎
If you’re giving these to a middle schooler with younger siblings, add on Pete the Cat & the Missing Cupcakes for preschoolers or Mrs. Pigglewiggle vintage stories for grade-schoolers.
(Also for funsies, I watched Junior Bake-off on Netflix while I was preparing to read these so I was already thinking youthful happiness)
Bake Believe, Cori Cooper, Review, Itsy Bitsy Book Bits, YA
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading the story of Cat and her journey from “making” frozen waffles and microwave dinners to learning how to bake. It is a sweet story of a middle school girl who’s finding her way in more ways than one, from navigating her crush on a cute new guy who just moved to town to learning more about her family history she is discovering what makes her happy. Cat’s unique journey has allowed her to learn her family history and discover more about why baking is just so important to her family. Bonus: there’s a recipe after every chapter 🙂
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eat it up! What a sweet story of Cat as she discovers a love of baking. Funny, magical, and creative. I love the characters and the story. This book made me feel like a kid again! Go ahead, and dig in!
Bake Believe, Bake Believe Trilogy, Cori Cooper, Review, Itsy Bitsy Book Bits, Kids, Fantasy, YA
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a fun, magical read. Perfect YA but fun to read as an adult. All the recipes are a bonus.
I felt like Cat and friends could be the kids in my neighborhood (except no one delivers delicious treats to me).
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Bake Believe is a story of a young girl who is a little boy crazy and determined to enjoy every second of life. Through a happy accident she comes to find that she has a special ability when she bakes. Not special like her food tastes good, special like magical!
This is a fantastic story for ages from middle school to adult. Not only is the story cute and funny, but the artist has the gift of making you feel like you are part of the story, experiencing it right along with the character.
This book should carry a warning though! Each chapter is followed by a delicious recipe that you will want to try.
I would recommend this book to anyone ages 10 and up! Looking forward to reading the rest if the series
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very cute coming of age story! The characters were lovable and the family dynamic was relatable. Everyone remembers those awkward coming of age years but to add baking that immensely messes with peoples feelings to the mix, who would have thought!
Throughout the story you find yourself wanting to know more background on each characters and longing to understand how each character fits into the story! The author did a great job of keeping the readers attention!
The only complaint is I wish the author would have incorporated the pretzels more that were so important in the beginning!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a good preteen book. It starts with Cat’s last day of summer vacation. Cat grew up in a house where no one bakes. At all. Ever. Her mother seems a bit odd and Cat seems to be a bit much. But I love her character and remember being like her at that age. I love that there are recipes in each chapter, which do not skip over them. They are just as good as the rest of the book. I can’t wait to read the next book to find out more!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is pretty good. From the characters who are adorable and funny to how entertaining the author makes baking for kids, teens and adults alike. Cat is so cute with her crush! Very good read that I highly recommend!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A pre-teen, young teen reader with a bit of magic, a spunky teen main character and a whole lot of fun!!! I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and wished I had younger kids at home to share these stories with. The recipes are super fun too! Such a great way to get your kids interested in learning to bake. I will be looking forward to book two in this series.
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has to be one of the first books that I have read by this author and her story was a great read. I could see my friends with children having a blast reading this to their daughters as well as enjoying the book as much as I did! This story is filled with magic that makes it a blast reading. The main character finds out that when she bakes, she can make things happen. This was a wonderful first book and I cannot wait until I read the next book!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was cute, fun, has recipes included, and offers a glimpse of life through a teenagers eyes. Imaginative, fun, and not another dystopian-like-all-the-others YA novel.
All Cat wants is for her last day of summer to be the most epically awesome day EVER. This means getting to the pool early with her best friend/cousin, get the perfect amount of blond in her hair, thanks to lemon juice and sunshine, and boys to flirt with. Everything is going great, and she even meets a NEW cute boy and tries the best soft pretzel she has ever had in her life!
Why can’t Cat get this pretzel out of her head? Now that she thinks about it…why does her mom hate cooking so much? Why don’t they ever have anything that isn’t carry out or delivery? Cat is about to set out on a very interesting journey in learning about magic and her family secret.
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper is such a fun, original book. I sat down with my son and we devoured the first book in the Bake Believe series. Cat is your typical teen. All she wants is a simple, fun last day of summer. She was very relatable to my middle son, who is the same age. The magic infused into the story was so fun and whimsical. We both got a kick out of the recipes included in the story. This is a great book for all ages. With a fun plot and well-written characters, we both greatly enjoyed this book.
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5/5 Stars
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
This isn’t the first book I’ve read by the author. Bake Believe is a cute little book. If you like food with a little magic then this book is for you.
Cat is so used to eating frozen food and it doesn’t bother her. Thats until she goes to the pool with her cousin and sees a high school kid with a pretzel. Now she can’t stand the thought of eating frozen foods. The quote I chose for Cat is: “Yeah, I know. But not really. It’s like an extra one, right? Cause it’s the last day of summer. I’ll be here for the real Friday fun night. Can I, please? Just for a little bit? I want to talk to Robyn about something.”
Robyn is Cat’s cousin and best friend. She is excited that her cousin decides that she wants real food. She can’t wait to see what their future holds. The quote I chose for Robyn is: “Well, I’m glad Tia Bridget doesn’t cook. If that means you will come hang out with us more. I love it when you’re here.”
Highly recommended for Kids & Family lovers.
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a cute book. Definitely not something I would normally pick up but I enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting that Cat’s moods while baking were influential of others. This is definitely a good book for middle school age/pre-teen and would recommend it. I also appreciated the recipes!
COVER REVEAL 
Now that Cat knows what her baking can do, it’s time to discover why and how!
Cat and her family roadtrip all the way to Arizona for Thanksgiving break. When they arrive at the family bakery, instead of getting the answers to her bazillions of questions, Cat finds herself in the middle of a real-life bakery showdown. The baking is bonkers, emotions are all over the place and the stakes keep getting higher.
Will Cat ever discover what makes her family so super weird?
Find out in Bake-Off, the sequel to Bake Believe.
Bake Believe AUDIO BOOK by Cori Cooper
4 out of 5 Stars
Cat Anderson has an interesting story behind her name and behind her family. Cat and Robin, best friend and cousin, are starting the 8th grade. When Cat goes to her last class, she finds something very strange, there are boxes in the classroom and no teacher. Cat races back to her guidance counselor to get it straightened out. Cat is given a few options, she makes a choice to take culinary, at least for the day until she can get into Art with Robin. When Cat discovers that her crush, Toby, is not only in the same class but would be in her group, Cat is desperate to stay in the culinary class. When Cat bakes for the first time ever, something strange happens. Will this happen every time she bakes? What does her mother know about it? Why won’t she tell Cat?
This sweet tale of discovering who you are and the quirkiness of your family was a great listen. I enjoyed the characters. I loved hearing my name as a character (Thanks for including me! I only hope I can be that cool of an aunt in real life.)! I was shocked when the story ended the way it did. I hope there is a sequel that can tell me what happened. This is a story that can be enjoyed by all ages. Oh my Goshness is entering my lexicon!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bake Believe is an adorable story about a young girl going through crushes, school, family, and… something special. This book was definitely one of a kind. It’s a coming of age novel with a relatable young character and all of her friends and family. Read this if you like cute stories about young children figuring out where they are meant to be in life. The narrator is great and fits the story really well from a teens perspective.
“Bake Believe” has officially turned me on to audio books. It was such a cute story, and the way it was told really had your imagination running. The narrator made that story everything and more. I listened to it every chance I had, and the time fly by each chapter making it hard to believe it was as long as it was.
The story starts with Cat who is newly entering 8th grade. Her and her cousin Robyn are excited for new electives, boys, and a great new year. First day of school she is put into an elective for culinary arts. New and unfamiliar because her mother does absolutely no cooking unless its frozen or pre-made its a new experience for her. She excited to bake and be with her classmates but soon starts to receive odd behavior from her mother who doesn’t want her to cook or take the class. As the story unfolds we learn that there are family secrets deep within Cats family, and while her aunt bakes with love and her mother scorns the kitchen as whole its Cat who we find with some extraordinary powers in the kitchen. Its a very fun story and each chapter ending provides a recipe related to the chapter. Kids and adults will appreciate this book!
What a cute story by Cori Cooper! I listened with my daughter and she enjoyed it so much. Bake Believe’s main character Cat is a spunky teenager that is unapologetically herself. As she shares her view of the world with us, we learn that like many other teenagers, she is into boys, friends, and living life to the fullest. Cat’s world is turned upside down when a mishap in her school schedule caused the reveal of a huge family secret. The secret has Cat learning to grow and mature while understanding more about herself. This story is fun and inspiring. The narrator Katie Penate did an amazing job portraying each character’s individuality and making the story come to life! If you have a young teen in your life, consider this book.
Review by @nrl0522
Bake Believe is a charming sweet story about a preteen who ends up in a class about cooking! I often found myself chuckling while reading and reminiscing about those days where the smallest inconveniences seemed like the end of the world! This book was great, and was narrated very nicely! I loved the sass and im sure we can all see ourselves in Cori Coopers characters! Great job!!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
Narrated by Katie Penate
Four Stars
Bake Believe is a wonderful YA audio written by Cori Cooper. Although this book is in the YA category, I think is is great for readers/listeners of all ages. She is a new to me author and I can’t wait to see what else she has written. The story is fun and filled with magic and some great recipes. Cat is a wonderful character and she has some witty dialogue. It was a really enjoyable 8 hours of listening pleasure.
Katie Penate is also new to me narrator. I like the tone of her voice and she really made the story come to life. I look forward to more books by Ms. Cooper and those narrated by Ms. Penate.
Review by @sunbarn
The storyline was wonderful for a young adult who wants to believe in some version of magic. The baking of emotions was something I wasn’t expecting and I appreciated the puns that went into this book. The narrator didn’t hit the mark for me, personally, but I have only ever listened to two audiobooks and have discovered that it isn’t my cup of tea. For anyone who enjoys audiobooks and thoroughly enjoys this genre, I think this would be a fantastic listen. My favorite parts were the recipes and the silliness involved with telling the reader how to make the things in each chapter. I definitely plan to make some of these as soon as possible.
Bake Believe AUDIO BOOK
By Cori Cooper
5 stars
I loved this audio book so much! The characters were just amazing and I really felt like I knew them. The author really did an amazing job with her character development for this story. This is the first book that I have listened to by this author and I will absolutely be looking to listen to more from her again in the future. I love baking so I think that really helped me relate to the main character Cat, I really liked and her and enjoyed listening to the story her. I loved the recipes too!
A nice quirky audio book that I absolutely loved! The narration was really good too and I would definitely recommend it to other readers!
Bake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Bake Believe AUDIO BOOK by Cori Cooper – Review by Barbara Stegall
This is a very light read well listen to book. It took me a few chapters to get pulled in. Pre-teens, younger siblings, and a little something extra what could go wrong? There were parts that had me laughing and I just love when a book can do that. This is a perfect book for when you want something light, funny, and a little different. Now I want to bake! Or just to have some really good bake goods. Hope they make me feel good!
I was very impressed with the characters in this book. Often times adult authors forget what it was like to be a kid and child characters can come off a bit too mature for their age but these characters were spot on with their attitudes and the things that seem like the end of the world when you’re that age as well as the healthy dose of respect for adults even when you don’t want to listen to them that you still have at that age before you hit the rebellious phase. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would absolutely read this with my daughter when she is older. I think kids around 12 or 13 will love this story and find the characters very relatable. The magic style in the story sounds corny in the synopsis but the way it was written felt very organic to the storyline and I never felt like it was over the top or pushing past what is believably realistic in a fantasy novel. All in all I was impressed with the writing and I hope we get to see more of Cat’s journey.
Bake Believe Audible Logo Unabridged Audio Book by Cori Cooper is a great YA book that really draws you in and makes you become invested in Cat. She is such a loveable character that brings the whole story to life.
Having read this book previously I was excited to listen to the audio book version. And while I still really enjoyed the story I did struggle with the narration a bit. I found it hard to connect with the person telling this story, hard to listen to their way of bringing it to life. Their style definitely suited this type of book which makes me think this is definitely a personal thing. and knowing how good this book is, it doesn’t take away from it being a 5* read.
I enjoyed reading this book and was excited to pick up and listen to the audio. I enjoyed how the narrator made the story fun and entertaining to listen to. I also enjoyed how they brought the story to life with the different tones for each character. This is a cute young adult story about Cat and what happens to her when a scheduling mix up places her in a culinary class. Her family has a secret and she is about to find out what it is. I really enjoyed Cat’s character, she was fun and I enjoyed her growth throughout her mix up. Great story to listen to and worth the audio pick up. I highly recommend this audio.
This story follows Cat, an 8th grader with a family secret. She inadvertently ends up in a culinary class. Cat’s family never bakes – never. So, when she does bake, something crazy happens! This story describes teens to a tee. The author did an amazing job with character descriptions and details. Bonus – there are even recipes in there!
~ ~ ~ ~ AUDIO BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cori Cooper lives in the AZ Mountains where it is now ridiculously hot, there are limited cacti and she spends the winter shoveling out of snow. Sounds made up, but it’s all true! She shares her space with the best guy in the world, whom she married twenty years ago, four fantastic kiddos, two cranky cats and a graying dog who thinks she’s still a puppy.
Cori has been writing and reading stories since she was a little girl and thanks her lucky stars for the chance to publish them now. She has always wanted to be an Author.
