Hunker Down with the McKallisters

A Cake Series Book

By: J. Bengtsson

Narrated by: Connor Crais, Stella Hunter

Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of the Cake series by J. Bengtsson comes a funny, heartwarming companion novella featuring the Cake characters in lockdown.

Just like the rest of the world, the McKallisters find themselves struggling to conform to a new way of life after the virus confines them to their homes. These connected short stories give fans a chance to catch up on all of their favorite Cake characters as well as enjoy a bonus epilogue and interviews with the characters.

Find out how Jake and Kyle cope with isolation - and each other after they enter quarantine following exposure to the virus. Follow Finn and Emma as they desperately try to prevent a super-spreader event at Perryland - while attempting to ration the toilet paper. And go on a humorous journey with Quinn as he searches for a place to stay after initially refusing to lock down with the others. And in a bonus epilogue, Keith is called upon to lead the family on a secret mission that unites them all.

©2020 J. Bengtsson (P)2020 J. Bengtsson

Enjoyable

This little novella was truly great. It is always fun to check in with the McKallister family. Jill's writing is so good that it makes you believe they are real people. With this terrible pandemic raging on, it was nice to bring some humor to an otherwise sad situation. I enjoyed the narrators, but would have loved to have Zachary Webber, Andi Arndt and Joe Arden revisit the characters. They have truly brought them to life.

Good idea of the pandemic

Did I empathize with the characters with this book. My favorite part was the interviews. I really understood Mom’s opinion

Coping with Love and Humor

When Jill Bengtsson announced that she planned to write a series of vignettes about the McKallister family from her best-selling Cake series, her Banana Binder fan group was ecstatic. Who better to get readers through the vicissitudes of the pandemic than Jake and Casey, Kyle and Kenzie, Emma and Finn, and the rest of the family and in-laws.

Optimism was rewarded and expectations were exceeded. The stories were funny and touching updates, connecting with our greatest fears while we identify with toilet paper crises and quarantines. The epilogue is everything.

Now we have the additional joy of hearing them as well. Connor Crais and Stella Hunter, combined with Jill’s vivid writing, bring an experience that will have the listener rolling in laughter and empathetically tearing up, sometimes both at the same time.

Even if you are new to Jill’s books, this would be a terrific introduction to the Cake series. Especially the bonus material at the end.

So hunker down with the McKallister family. You won’t regret it.

Timely

I am in bed recovering from COVID. I’m scared, in pain and miserable. Listening to some of my most loved characters going through COVID lockdown gave me a couple hours of much needed levity that I could relate to.

Great!!

This whole series is AMAZING!! Start with 'Cake'! I would give 10 stars if I could!

love it!

love the family. now we just need Quinn and Grace's story! when? can't wait!

Loved it!

I enjoyed this book very much!! It was very interesting to see how an author incorporated today’s current pandemic and still make it a fun and good read!! The narrators performance was EXTRAORDINARY!!

I love the McKallisters!

I reacted to this novella much more emotionally than I expected I would. It was a wonderful story about how the family gets through the situation. Lots of laughs and lots of tears too. I loved the interviews at the end with each of the characters. I really enjoyed the narration in this novella. Stella and Connor did an amazing job taking on all of the McKallisters and even the Perrys.

YES!!!!

Loved, loved, loved this quarantine visit with the McKallisters!!! It was just the lighthearted funny listen I needed in these crazy times!

Love the McKallisters

I loved that we got to catch up with the McKallisters and their extended family and see how they were dealing with the lockdown and having to quarantine. Author J. Bengtsson does an amazing job with her storytelling and I love that she brings humor into the scenes. Reading these tales during our actual lockdown brought so much joy during a difficult time and I’m really glad we get to relive them again in this novella. Connor Crais and Stella Hunter’s performances were fantastic and I really enjoyed how they narrated all the different characters and brought everything to life. This was a great addition to the Cake series.