Wreck the Halls: Cake Wrecks Gets "Festive"

By Jen Yates

Laugh your way through the season with more of those “epic fails, with frosting" from the creator of Cake Wrecks (The New York Times).

From thankless Thanksgiving turkeys and confusing Christmas conundrums, to less-than-happy Hanukkah horrors and New Year’s meltdowns, Wreck the Halls has an icing-smeared disaster for every occasion. With additional chapters on Black Friday, family communication, and navigating the murky waters of politically correct cake greetings (Winter!), Wreck the Halls combines Jen Yates’s signature blend of wit and sarcasm with the most hilarious frosting fails this side of winter solstice. Get ready for some sweet relief from the holiday madness—and plenty of laughs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449420048

Reviews for Wreck the Halls

[chrisweir-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Funny book about professionally decorated cakes gone wrong. Cross eyed Santas, melted Santas, reindeer that look more like poo. There's a dragon that is eating Santa. Another that looks like a dragon but has the head of Santa. It starts off with Thanksgiving and mangled Turkey cakes. Again some that look like poo. Another has Barbie with a dress that looks like a turkey, nicely done but what were they thinking?

[booklover3258 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So freaking hilarious! Not only are the cakes funny but the words throughout make it even better! It ranges from Halloween to New Years with a little scifi thrown in and some offball cakes as well. I do not have a favorite one in the book but they are all bad cakes whether it be spelling or just plain creepy looking (and not on purpose!)

[thothj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very funny! What were some of these cake decorators, or rather cake "destroyers" thinking?

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is based on Yates’s hilarious Cake Wrecks blog. If you are not familiar with the blog, the basic idea is that Yates collects and comments on professional cakes that have gone disastrously wrong – in a humorous way. This collection focuses on cakes designed for major holidays (e.g., Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah) and includes picture evidence of misspellings, bad decorating choices, and so on. As mentioned, Yates adds her own snarky comments as captions to the photos, sometimes just making a funny aside but usually weaving together a story about the cakes in question. Some of the material in the book is the same or similar to the blog, but some is new. This book is definitely a great light read, although I didn't find it *quite* as funny as her first book - i.e., I did not find myself literally laughed out loud at parts as I had with the original book. Overall though, this book is a great diversion from dark reading materials or stressful holidays.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I know there are other Cake Wreck fans here who will appreciate this book. Not just horrible Christmas cakes, no, there are Hanukkah, Halloween and Thanksgiving cakes to laugh at. Even if you check the website regularly, this book still has new material.

[teamdewey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought the other cake wrecks book was so funny I had to read this one. Just as funny as the first.

[zzshupinga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cake Wrecks is one of my favorite blogs to check throughout the day. Jen (and John's) commentary keep me howling and make the day brighter. And this book? Even better! It's a portable version of Cake Wrecks! It includes almost all new material of holiday wreckage (and some special appearances of fan favorites) and Jen's witty/snarky commentary that will brighten up even the darkest day. Be amazed at the cakes "professionals" get away with creating and selling. See cakes in a whole new way after Jen reveals what those cupcake and cake wreckages really are. I guarantee that your trips to the bakery will never be the same after looking at this book.If you've never read the blog (why the heck not???) you can still pick up the book and enjoy it just as much as fans of the blog. A must have for those times when you're feeling down and the sky's are gray.