Weekend Cooking - Review: The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline: Angela Russo is in her thirties and living in New York City; her life, however, has stagnated. She is alone and working at a job as an events planner which doesn't excite her. After getting fired following a spectacular disaster at a high profile event, Angela decides to head to Maine to nurse her wounds and move her life in a different direction. She is not just escaping NY - she had recently started communicating with an guy that lives in Maine through an online dating site. With potential love on the horizon with her "MaineCatch", Angela heads to Maine to start over.

 Growing up, Angela learned to cook at the side of her beloved Italian grandmother, Nonna. Her grandmother and the rituals in the kitchen provided a steadying force as Angela dealt with the ending of her parent's marriage and the adjustment to her Dad's new wife. Once she arrives in Maine and things are not turning out as she planned, food and the rituals that surround it once again provide comfort for Angela. Before long, Angela is working at a cafe and baking fresh muffins and cakes to replace the stale bagels being served with the strong coffee. Food is the vehicle she uses to connect to people and to draw them in. As Angela faces the isolation of Maine in winter, she once again turns to food and cooking. She starts offering cooking lessons in her small cottage and collects a group from her community once per week to learn how to cook a dish inspired by Nonna and to connect with each other and begin to reveal a little about themselves.

My Thoughts
This is my first novel by this author but it certainly won't be my last.  I tore through this book and didn't want to leave the characters at the end (I think the book lends itself well to a sequel - wonder if there will be one?) The story of self-discovery is very relatable and you want to see Angela succeed in the new life she has set out to create. Finally, the cooking scenes convey a real love of the art of cooking and it's power to heal and connect - they had me considering settling in for an afternoon of cooking on a cold winter's day.  The book even includes recipes from the novel including Maine Blueberry Muffins, Torta Al Limone and Stracciatella alla Romana, The comfort of a good novel and good food all in one!

Have you read other books by this author?  Which do you recommend I read next?

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Review: Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky: Charlotte and Nicole were childhood friends and together they spent summers at Nicole's family's house on Quinnipeague Island, Maine. As adults, they grew apart when Nicole married Julian and fell into a career blogging about the farm to table movement while Charlotte traveled as a successful journalist. They are reuniting on the island for the summer in order to work together on a cookbook about the "Quinnie" specialties and the magic of the island and its locals. As the summer progresses, each woman reveals secrets which has the potential to destroy their recently rediscovered friendship.

 Charlotte was raised by irresponsible parents who practically neglected her; she found comfort in her friendship with Nicole and Nicole's parents became like parents to Charlotte. She spent many summers with them on the island of Quinnipeague in Maine. Charlotte feel in love with the island and the comfort she found there with Nicole's family. Due to her rough childhood, Charlotte always had an edge and was stronger than the more meek Nicole. Nicole is more trusting and less sure of herself and she relies on Charlotte to lead. After the girls grew apart and Charlotte didn't return to Quinnipeague for Nicole's father's funeral, Nicole still felt like the needy friend constantly connecting with Charlotte by email and tracking her career. What she didn't know, however, was that Charlotte desperately wanted to connect again with Nicole and to find comfort again on the island. When Nicole approached her about helping on the cookbook, Charlotte jumped at the chance.

 Through the love of the island and the work on the cookbook, the women begin to repair their relationship. As the summer goes on, however, each reveals secrets to each other than dramatically change their relationship. Nicole begins by revealing that her husband of ten years, Julian, has MS and the progression of the disease threatens his career as a surgeon. More than that, however, it is threatening their marriage as Julian swears Nicole to secrecy about the disease and shuts her out as she tries to help him. Charlotte has a history with Julian which is unknown to Nicole but in light of Julian illness, Charlotte feels compelled to share it with Nicole.

  My Thoughts
The cover of this book drew me in with its beautiful fields of lavender and the shoreline in the distance. In much the same way, the author drew me to Quinnipeague with the descriptions of the island's protective locals and the magic of the herbs which are endemic to the island. The island is a character in the book and it has a power over the two main characters in the book - Nicole and Charlotte. It feels as if their friendship could not be repaired or weather the revelations anywhere else but the island. Their shared history on the island (and maybe that salt air?) keep them committed to working through their issues and trying to recapture a little of what they had on the island as children.

Barbara Delinsky weaves a story with many twists and turns and works in multiple interesting, current topics. Those include progress in the treatment of MS, the farm to table movement, and umbilical cord blood banking. All of this, coupled with wanting to see how things progressed for Julian and whether Nicole and Charlotte could mend their relationship, kept me reading. Definitely a perfect summer read - or maybe a winter read when your mind needs to escape the dreary winter and get to a beautiful island!