After a summer in New York to get to know her bio-dad and her Other Family, the oddly named Cyd Charisse of Gingerbread has returned to senior year in San Francisco, given her eponymous rag doll to her little sister, and rolled up her sleeves to pursue her short but gorgeous surfer ex-boyfriend Shrimp in the firm belief that their relationship can be returned from "just friends" to its former status of "true love." A spoiled suburban princess with pretensions of Goth, CC has up to this year been so tediously self-involved that she has not even been willing to commit to having girl friends. But now she has Asian semi-lesbian punk Helen and Shrimp's folly Autumn. Despite their good advice, and that of her gay half-brother Danny, her wise elderly friend Sugar Pie, her shallow but glamorous mother Nancy and her nice stepfather Sid-dad, Fernando the chauffeur, and even his godson, the boy CC calls Alexei the Horrible, CC stubbornly continues to believe that her fate lies with Shrimp. This slim plot, loaded with pop culture, current teen speak, fashionable food, and much switching of sexual gender preferences, is punctuated with spats and making-up between the various characters, assisted by uncharacteristically tactful and sensible intervention by CC. In the end the author pulls a switch with a wedding (but whose?) and a tearful redefinition of true love that leaves room for a sequel.

Rachel Cohn's thoroughly unlikable Cyd Charisse is evocative of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson of Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, but without the redeeming wit, and the San Francisco setting recalls the passion for L.A. of Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat, but without the mythic sweetness. However, fans of chick lit will embrace this super-trendy book with open arms. (Ages 12 up) --Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up - Cyd Charisse's coveted doll, whom readers met in Gingerbread (S & S, 2002), has taken up residence on her second-grade sister's bed. Cyd has just returned from New York City, where she met her bio-dad. She is suffering from a major case of Shrimp longing even though she and her surfer boyfriend had broken up, and she's determined to test the waters again with her "one true love." As soon as she can find him, that is. He is expected back soon from traveling in Papua New Guinea with his parents. Meanwhile, CC is trying to keep the peace at home with her mother, who wants her to fill out college applications. Alexei the Horrible, godson of her parents' chauffeur, shows up and some (predictable) sparks fly between him and Cyd. Shrimp does make a few rare appearances (with parents!), when he's not surfing or painting, but tries to stay "just friends" with Cyd even though the "We're Officially Back On" kiss is just so close in coming. Cohn's humor is right on. If teens laugh out loud at Louise Rennison's books, they will surely be turned on by this one, though it will help to have read Gingerbread first. The joy of the book can be found in the familiar characters and meeting new ones, and this title leaves open the possibility for a third installment. - Kelly Czarnecki, Bloomington Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
If Cyd Charisse knows one thing, it's that Shrimp is her true love. Shrimp, the hottest pint-size surfer-artist in San Francisco. That boy (as her mother called him), who was the primary cause of Cyd being grounded to Alcatraz, formerly known as her room. The boy who dumped Cyd before she left home to spend the summer in New York City. Now it's the start of senior year. Cyd has changed, but maybe Shrimp has changed too -- and maybe Cyd and Shrimp will need to get to know each other all over again to figure out if it's for real. Can Cyd get back together with Shrimp and keep the peace with her mom? And can she get a life outside of her all-encompassing boy radar? This sequel to Gingerbread has all the sharp humor and searing attitude of the original, which ELLEgirl praised as "not just Another Teen Novel" and Teen People called "unforgettable." In Shrimp, Cyd might be a little older and a little wiser, but she's still the same irrepressible free spirit determined to find her own way in the world, on her own terms.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The long-awaited sequel to Gingerbread!

Now that Cyd Charisse has returned home from her summer in New York City, she's got a new mission: to reclaim her true love, Shrimp, the hottest pint-size artist-surfer in San Francisco. Yes, he broke up with her before she left San Francisco -- but Cyd has grown up over the summer, and she doesn't plan to let Shrimp get away that easily this time around.

Besides her relationship with Shrimp, Cyd is attempting to keep the new peace at home with her mother, who is bugging her about college applications -- even though Cyd's idea of life after high school involves bumming on the beach with Shrimp.

Told in Rachel Cohn's fiercely individual voice, Shrimp continues Cyd Charisse's story with all the verve and wit of the original.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Cohn returns to spunky narrator Cyd Charisse for this compelling sequel to her first novel, Gingerbread. In this installment, Cyd Charisse (now calling herself CC) has returned from visiting her "bio-dad" in New York and prepares for her senior year in San Francisco, determined to rekindle her romance with Shrimp. But even as she and the artistic surfer give their relationship another try, CC learns more about herself, finding out how to "[become] a member of my family and... [that] there are chicks my own age who are actually cool and friend-worthy." Her mother is pushing college, and Shrimp wants her to move to New Zealand with him ("The surfing is killer there," he pleads); ultimately, CC will have to decide her future for herself. Once again, the memorable heroine's light-hearted, sassy narration will enthrall her fans, and win over new recruits. She is a complete character, likeable as much for her daring outfits and attitude as for her good heart and energy. There are some glitches: a subplot about Alexei, a handsome college student who is taking a semester off to work for her step-dad, goes nowhere, and even Cyd's first female friends seem to disappear quickly from the story. But readers will be swept up in her relationship with Shrimp, which reads as authentic young love, from a romantic night spent snuggling on a rooftop hammock to struggling with each other's pasts-and their different ideas for the future. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green

It is the start of her senior year, and Cyd Charisse is looking forward to two things: her future without school and her future with her true love, Shrimp. Sure, he broke up with Cyd right before her summertime trip to visit her dad in New York City, but that doesn't mean they are over and through. No, now that she is back in San Francisco, the determined teen plans on their getting back together—and when Cyd has her mind set on something, watch out! Of course, Cyd's life is also complicated by her family, including her sister's doll napping of sweet Gingerbread, her mother's expectations about her college future, her stepfather's disappointment about her earlier abortion, and her beloved half-brother's unexpected breakup with his "true love" boyfriend. Fans of Rachel Cohn's first Cyd Charisse work, Gingerbread, are sure to applaud the return of their heroine. A sort of Weetzie Bat mixed with Princess Mia, Cyd Charisse may be the coolest bicoastal teen to hit the pages in years. 2005, Simon & Schuster, Ages 14 up.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Cyd Charisse's coveted doll, whom readers met in Gingerbread (S & S, 2002), has taken up residence on her second-grade sister's bed. Cyd has just returned from New York City, where she met her bio-dad. She is suffering from a major case of Shrimp longing even though she and her surfer boyfriend had broken up, and she's determined to test the waters again with her "one true love." As soon as she can find him, that is. He is expected back soon from traveling in Papua New Guinea with his parents. Meanwhile, CC is trying to keep the peace at home with her mother, who wants her to fill out college applications. Alexei the Horrible, godson of her parents' chauffeur, shows up and some (predictable) sparks fly between him and Cyd. Shrimp does make a few rare appearances (with parents!), when he's not surfing or painting, but tries to stay "just friends" with Cyd even though the "We're Officially Back On" kiss is just so close in coming. Cohn's humor is right on. If teens laugh out loud at Louise Rennison's books, they will surely be turned on by this one, though it will help to have read Gingerbread first. The joy of the book can be found in the familiar characters and meeting new ones, and this title leaves open the possibility for a third installment.-Kelly Czarnecki, Bloomington Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews