Explore the real-world places that appear in Katie and the Cupcake Cure by Coco Simon. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Park Street Middle School, School Cafeteria, Katie's House, Mia's House, Alexis's House and 7 more.
Main school setting — where Katie starts 7th grade alone
Park Street Middle School is the central setting of the novel. Katie Cahill arrives here dreading her first day of 7th grade after her best friend Callie transfers to a different school and joins the popular crowd. Feeling friendless and lost, Katie navigates the cafeteria, classrooms, and hallways, eventually meeting Mia, Alexis, and Emma — the three girls who will become her closest friends and fellow Cupcake Club founders.
Middle schools on Long Island and in Westchester became central community institutions during the post-WWII suburban expansion of New York. The fictional Park Street Middle School mirrors the layout and social dynamics of real suburban New York schools from the era.
As a fictional school, no real-world counterpart exists, but the setting closely resembles schools in towns like Yonkers, White Plains, and Great Neck, New York.
Park Street Middle School — where Katie eats alone and meets her future friends
The school cafeteria is the scene of one of Katie's most painful moments: she carries her lunch tray looking for a place to sit after Callie abandons her for the popular table. It is also the site of the pivotal turnaround — Mia invites Katie to sit with her, Alexis, and Emma, beginning the friendship that leads directly to the founding of the Cupcake Club.
School cafeterias became standard fixtures in American public schools during the mid-20th century, designed as social hubs for students during the lunch period. They have long been recognized as critical spaces for adolescent social formation.
Cafeterias remain central to middle school life across New York State, often serving as the primary social battleground for pre-teen students navigating cliques and friendships.
Residential neighborhood — Katie's home kitchen where cupcakes are baked
Katie's house is the emotional heart of the book. It is here that Katie retreats after difficult days at school, finding comfort in baking with her mom, Sharon. The kitchen becomes the birthplace of the Cupcake Club when Katie first brings homemade cupcakes to school. Sharon, a warm and supportive single mother, encourages Katie's passion for baking throughout the novel.
Suburban single-family homes like Katie's became emblematic of New York's outer suburbs and bedroom communities during the 1950s through 1980s, shaped by waves of families moving out of New York City.
Neighborhoods matching Katie's fictional street exist throughout Westchester County and Long Island, characterized by tree-lined streets, modest family homes, and close community ties.
Nearby neighborhood — Mia's home, a gathering spot for the club
Mia Vélaz-Cruz's house serves as one of the Cupcake Club's key meeting places. Mia, stylish and confident, has recently moved to Maple Grove after her parents' divorce. Her home reflects her sophisticated taste and her mother's warm hospitality. The girls gather here to plan cupcake orders, brainstorm flavors, and bond over their shared love of baking and friendship.
The experience of children adjusting to new towns after family relocations is a deeply common suburban American story, especially in bedroom communities surrounding New York City where families frequently move for school districts or work.
Communities like Mia's fictional neighborhood are found throughout Westchester and Nassau Counties, where diverse families have increasingly settled since the 1990s.
Residential street — headquarters for business planning sessions
Alexis Becker's house is where the business side of the Cupcake Club takes shape. Alexis, the most organized and entrepreneurial of the four girls, uses her home to set up spreadsheets, pricing strategies, and schedules for cupcake orders. Her no-nonsense attitude and sharp mind push the club from a casual hobby into a real small business.
The entrepreneurial spirit among young people has deep roots in American suburban culture, where school bake sales, lemonade stands, and small neighborhood businesses have long been rites of passage.
Youth entrepreneurship programs are active across Westchester County schools and libraries, reflecting the same spirit Alexis embodies in the novel.
Family neighborhood — Emma's home, full of brothers and warmth
Emma Taylor's house is a lively, noisy place full of her brothers and the chaos of a big family. Emma, sweet-natured and kind, often hosts Cupcake Club meetings here as well. Her home represents the comfort and ordinariness of suburban life that contrasts with the social anxieties Katie faces at school. Emma is one of the first friends who makes Katie feel truly welcome.
Large family homes in suburban New York have historically been associated with the postwar baby boom generation and subsequent waves of family-oriented suburban growth throughout the mid-to-late 20th century.
Neighborhoods with single-family homes housing large families remain common in towns like Tarrytown, Scarsdale, and Rockville Centre in the greater New York area.
Main Street area — where the girls shop for baking ingredients
The local grocery store is a practical but important location in the Cupcake Club's operations. Katie, Mia, Alexis, and Emma make trips here to buy flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and specialty decorations for their cupcake orders. The girls learn to budget carefully under Alexis's watchful eye, comparing prices and calculating costs to keep the club profitable.
Supermarkets became the dominant form of food retail in American suburbs after World War II, replacing smaller specialty shops and becoming community gathering points in their own right.
Grocery chains including Stop & Shop, ShopRite, and Key Food serve communities throughout Westchester County and Long Island, matching the type of store the girls would visit.
Visit: Stop & Shop (landmark)
Downtown Maple Grove — specialty supplies for decorating cupcakes
The girls visit a specialty baking supply store to find unique cupcake decorations, food coloring, piping tips, and fondant. This location represents the club's growing ambition — moving beyond basic baking toward artful, professional-looking cupcakes. Katie feels her most confident and happy here, surrounded by ingredients and tools that fuel her creative passion.
Specialty kitchen and baking stores expanded significantly in American suburbs during the 1990s and 2000s alongside the rise of the Food Network and popular baking culture, serving a growing community of home bakers.
Stores like Sur La Table and local independent kitchen shops serve the baking community in New York's suburbs, offering the kind of specialty supplies the Cupcake Club would seek out.
Visit: Sur La Table (landmark)
Park Street Middle School — site of a key school social event
The school gymnasium features as a social gathering space where Katie observes the painful divide between her old life — including former best friend Callie and the popular crowd — and her new friendships with Mia, Alexis, and Emma. School events held here underscore how much Katie's social world has shifted since the beginning of 7th grade.
Gymnasiums have been central to American school life since the early 20th century, used for physical education, school dances, assemblies, and community events throughout generations of suburban school culture.
School gymnasiums across New York's suburban districts continue to host the full spectrum of middle school social events, from dances to pep rallies, much as depicted in the novel.
Nearby street — home of Katie's former best friend
Callie's house represents Katie's painful past. Before the novel begins, Callie and Katie were inseparable best friends who grew up together. When Callie decides to reinvent herself at Park Street Middle School by joining the popular crowd — the Best Friends Club led by Sydney Whitman — she effectively ends her friendship with Katie, leaving her adrift and lonely. The loss of this friendship is the wound that the Cupcake Club ultimately helps heal.
The experience of childhood friendships dissolving at the transition to middle school is a near-universal aspect of American adolescent development, documented extensively in educational psychology literature.
The emotional terrain of shifting middle school friendships is as relevant today as ever, and it remains a central theme in contemporary young adult fiction aimed at tweens.
Maple Grove community park — where friends gather outside school
The neighborhood park serves as a relaxed, neutral gathering spot where Katie and her new Cupcake Club friends can hang out away from the pressures of school. Here, the four girls talk freely about their lives, their dreams for the club, and the social dynamics of Park Street Middle School. The park represents the possibility of a fresh start and new belonging for Katie.
Community parks became integral to suburban American life during the 20th century, designed as democratic public spaces where residents of all ages could gather, play, and socialize outside of institutional settings.
Public parks throughout Westchester County and Long Island remain popular community anchors, especially for middle-school-aged children spending time between school and home.
Visit: Local Community Park (park)
Park Street Middle School entrance — the club's public debut
The first Cupcake Club bake sale table near the school entrance is the moment the four girls go public with their passion project. Katie, Mia, Alexis, and Emma set up their carefully made cupcakes and watch nervously as classmates approach. The bake sale is both a business test and a social statement — proof that their friendship and shared talent can produce something real and delicious that the whole school notices.
School bake sales have been a staple of American school fundraising since the early 20th century, serving as community-building events and early lessons in commerce for generations of students.
Bake sales remain popular at middle schools across New York State, though some districts have implemented nutrition policies that regulate what can be sold, making the Cupcake Club's enterprise all the more timely and spirited.
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