Cake Time

Truly great storytelling. We get into the mind of the female protagonist and Ju never lets her off the hook.....she has a way of digging deeper and deeper into the psyche of the mind of her protagonist. I appreciate the novel-in-stories, it really reads like a novel and that device lets the story unfold while breaking conventional novel writing rules. It's an important book to read to get into the mind of a lady just trying to make it in the crazy world we're in as well as see Ju's technique to inspire future novelists and storytellers.

Cake Time is a compelling, slice of life page turner following the mis/adventures of a complex, maturing female protagonist who deals with a steady stream of less than optimal dating and hook up partners while navigating young adult life and detours past pregnancy scares, swingers mixers and office politics. An equally present character is Los Angeles itself, as Siel peppers her tales with a steady mix of recognizable venues to any local.

“Meeting guys isn’t the issue. It’s everything else.” That line of dialog offers a sense of Cake Time’s plot as well as its style, which manages to be wonderfully direct and indirect at the same time. Every paragraph sparkles with freshness and insight, and the narrator’s voice is all the more riveting for its restraint. A blurb might call this author a Lorrie Moore for the Tinder age.

Great storytelling that I haven’t seen in a while. I usually don’t read a lot of short stories, I prefer novels or memoirs but this read more like a novel to me. Each story had a way of making me feel as if I was personally there to witness them. There were definitely parts that I could relate to and this made me want to keep reading. If I start to lose interest in the main character or if the story development seems to go nowhere..that’s where my brain shuts off and I have a hard time finishing the book. This was not the case with Cake Time. Recommend reading!

This novel-in-stories was so good I bought a second copy to give to a friend. I don't have anything more nuanced to say than you need this book in your life as soon as possible. Ju's poetic prowess shines through in these stories that bring a nuanced cast of characters to life. Reality is captured in this novel in ways both haunting and beautiful. Thank you for writing this, Siel.

I have not read the entire book. I bought this book to replace the book to the library. It was was good quality, like described. Up the part I read, the writing was great. I was loving the stories.

A promising writer - look forward to her next book.

I devoured this book in a couple days. It's a unique and intimate portrayal of an unapologetic post-adolescent female protagonist wading and diving into adulthood, surviving the mistakes commonplace for Gen X/Y'ers. In a culture where *eye roll* talking about sex is still taboo, this novel-in-stories is a sweet slice of realness.