Jeremy Bender vs. The Cupcake Cadets by Eric Luper

This book has a fun plot, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Jeremy is in big trouble. He ruins the engine on his father's boat with grape soda and green paint, and it will cost $470 to clean up the mess. That's $450 more than his friend, Slater, and he have together. The solution? Enter a model boat contest with $500 going to the winner! The problem? The contest is only open to girls who are members of the Cupcake Cadets. The solution? Jeremy and Slater become Jenna and Samantha, home-schooled, fraternal twins. They must first sell one-hundred boxes of the disgusting cupcakes and earn three merit badges. How can two boys hide their female identities, especially with the overnight camping trip coming up? What will happen if/when they are discovered?

The plot is not serious and is a nice change from the popular vampire, supernatural, action novels. It's about a couple of normal, sixth-grade boys who are trying to deal with school, family, girls, and the school bully. The conflict takes a giant leap right at the beginning of the book when Slater saves Jeremy by giving the bully a megawedgie! The plot takes a new twist when the boys' plan is discovered, but it becomes a new problem, not a solution. It comes to a nice climax at the boating contest, and all of the characters live up to the Cupcake Cadets motto, kind of.

Lexile level from lexile.com 720