It can be simply amusing for the sake of amusement, making no attempt at being meaningful in any way.

Now a hilarious novel for children can go one of two ways. I’m not avoiding the serious stuff, but through a series of unlikely events I found myself diving deep into funny book after funny book. Though I didn’t quite mean to, I ended up reading a whole slew of middle grade novels that were funny. This year, I stumbled into an unexpected pattern.

The secret cake baking (and Jingwen and Yanghao's hilarious attempts to eat all the evidence of their baking each night before their mother gets home from work) also turns out to be a way that Jingwen learns to speak English, gain a deeper understanding of his father, reconnect with a friend he hurt and, ultimately, tell his mother that he believes it's his fault his father died.Henry Holt and Company (an imprint of Macmillan) Jingwen's secret mission to make all twelve cakes that his father planned to sell at his Pie in the Sky bakery begins as a delicious distraction but grows into a dangerous, desperate venture that includes stealing money from his mother, almost burning down his apartment, and a pretty violent fight with his brother. There are the traditional Chinese cakes made from 'common, more affordable ingredients' that, as his father tells him, 'fill up the tummies of people who are less well-off,' and the complex cakes with rich ingredients that symbolize the hard work of Jingwen's grand parents and parents and sacrifices made to give their children a opportunities that they did not have. There is the embarrassment of the 'cheap,' 'plain' cakes that his father's family's bakery sells and the teasing Jingwen gets from his classmates (who bring fancy, colorful, character themed-cakes to school to celebrate their birthdays) as well as his gradual appreciation for Sundays spent making new cake recipes with his father in preparation for the bakery they would open in Australia and all that this move means for the future of his family. Jingwen's complicated relationship with cakes - they are the center of happy celebrations as well as reminders of loss and sadness - is expressed throughout the novel as he persists in believing in their importance.

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai