Bookish Review: The Kitchen Daughter

The Kitchen Daughter is the story of Ginny, who deals with the death of her parents and the pressure her sister puts on her by escaping through her cooking. Ginny has Asperger's Syndrome, so she has trouble dealing with other people, but in the kitchen, she finds peace--or at least, she used to, before her dead loved ones start appearing to her when she cooks their recipes. The book is a fairly quick read, enjoyable to those of us who like to escape in the kitchen. The book does include recipes (I've got the "Midnight Cry Brownies" in the oven right now--we'll see how they turn out) and Jael does a reasonably good job of getting inside the head of someone who has Asperger's (at the beginning of the book, Ginny doesn't realize she has Asperger's, though she knows she is different). The relationship between Ginny and her protective sister also rings true. Yes, there are ghosts, but their appearance is mostly Ginny trying to make sense of her life and who her parents really were. An enjoyable read, overall.

PS- How fun is the cover? Props to their production team--a very clever idea.

Disclaimer: I received an advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of review. Free access to the book did not affect my opinion. For more information on Simon & Schuster's eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com.