The Kitchen Daughter was a fast and easy read. I enjoyed it but didn't love it so I gave it a 3 -for the effort - out of 5 rating.
The concept of food handling as a mean of reaching or bringing out the departed is not new and although this story approached it from a different perspective -Ginny's Asperger's- it still didn't pull me in as I thought it would and should have although the elements were there, the cryptic message from the dead relatives, their ghosts appearing when she cooked their hand written recipes and the sisters conflict; it just didn't.
The cooking sessions that triggered the encounters and appearances with the ghosts were not long enough and left me wanting for more. I think the only cooking/ghost session that I found meaningful was that of Ginny and her father. The best part of the book in my opinion.
The characters were a bit flat and predictable and it felt to me that there were too many focal points that distracted from whatever the main one was.
Was it about Aspergers Syndrome and the challenges it brings to an adult woman, was it about how to deal with grief when you have Aspergers? Was it about the benefits of having food blogs and the conveniences of the internet? Sisters conflict after loss of parents? I don't know yet.
If it was about family unity, growing up with Asperger's and becoming independent, then the message got lost. The one opportunity when I thought the story would jump to the next level and turn it around was killed off rather than being developed. What an opportunity wasted.
I would have liked the conclusion to have taken Ginny out into the world and out of that house; well at least it wasn't one of those open ended books. I removed this tittle from my wish list.
The concept of food handling as a mean of reaching or bringing out the departed is not new and although this story approached it from a different perspective -Ginny's Asperger's- it still didn't pull me in as I thought it would and should have although the elements were there, the cryptic message from the dead relatives, their ghosts appearing when she cooked their hand written recipes and the sisters conflict; it just didn't.
The cooking sessions that triggered the encounters and appearances with the ghosts were not long enough and left me wanting for more. I think the only cooking/ghost session that I found meaningful was that of Ginny and her father. The best part of the book in my opinion.
The characters were a bit flat and predictable and it felt to me that there were too many focal points that distracted from whatever the main one was.
Was it about Aspergers Syndrome and the challenges it brings to an adult woman, was it about how to deal with grief when you have Aspergers? Was it about the benefits of having food blogs and the conveniences of the internet? Sisters conflict after loss of parents? I don't know yet.
If it was about family unity, growing up with Asperger's and becoming independent, then the message got lost. The one opportunity when I thought the story would jump to the next level and turn it around was killed off rather than being developed. What an opportunity wasted.
I would have liked the conclusion to have taken Ginny out into the world and out of that house; well at least it wasn't one of those open ended books. I removed this tittle from my wish list.
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