Title: The Kitchen Daughter
Author: Jael McHenry
Publisher: Gallery
Publication Date: April 12, 2011
Hardcover: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1439191699
Genre: Fiction
After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning (“do no let her…”) before vanishing like steam from a cooling dish.
A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda”) insists on selling their parents’ house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents’ belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.
My Review:
The Kitchen Daughter by Jeal McHenry is a beautiful, lyrical and extremely creative debut book about how unexpected change affects the life of 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio who has Asperger’s syndrome. The book opens with Ginny describing the funeral of her parents, who died unexpectedly on a vacation. Ginny, who has lived a very sheltered life finds a balance in the kitchen, perfecting family recipes. As Ginny is processing her grief, her sister Amanda wants to sell the house and have Ginny move in with her, something Ginny is dead set against. As Ginny continues to work on recreating recipes she discovers many things about herself and her family that she never would have imagined. The Kitchen Daughter is a beautiful story of family, Asperger’s Syndrome, and how it affects those who have personal connections to one with the syndrome. I found the book to be creative, informative, and one I did not want to put down. The reader gets to really know and care for the characters, cheer Ginny on and in the process gain some rather delicious sounding recipes. McHenry’s writing is masterful, commanding, and quite vivid and I eagerly await her next book. I highly recommend The Kitchen Daughter to all readers and to book discussion groups.
Jael McHenry is a talented and enthusiastic amateur cook who blogs about food and cooking at the SIMMER blog. She is a monthly pop culture columnist and Editor-in-Chief of Intrepid Media, online at intrepidmedia.com. Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. She lives in New York City.
I received a complimentary copy of The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry from Gallery Books. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.
This book looks wonderful, I actually want to stop what I am reading right now and start this book immediately! Great review.
Bonnie, it is that type of book. I do hope you read it.
Yep, I’m definitely going to be reading this book. Second lovely review I’ve read today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Good to hear, it is definitely worth reading as soon as possible.
I enjoyed this one as well. Great review.
Thank you. I really enjoyed this book and have passed it along to a friend. I have a feeling this one will be read often.
I loved this book – it’s sure to be one of my favorites of the year.
I thought it was absolutely wonderful as well. I think it will make a great gift, as I cannot fathom any readers I personally know, not enjoying this book.
Sounds like one I definitely need to pick up.
Absolutely, it is a wonderful book.
Nice to read your thoughts on this book. I thought it was great, and have been recommending it to other people.
I really enjoyed this book and I am glad to hear your did as well.
It sounds so good!! Thanks so much for being on the tour.
I was not on the tour, but I adored the book.
Oh, wait!! You didn’t review this as part of our tour! Whoops, ha ha! Still really happy that you liked it, though! LOL
Right, no tour, I believe it was full. However, I did obtain a copy and I am so glad I did! The Kitchen Daughter is a wonderful book and one i shall be giving as gifts.
This is one that I so must read…I’m intrigued by Asberger’s but especially when it shows up in women. Beautiful review!
Staci, I think you will really enjoy this book. I know I did.
I wish, oh, I wish, that more books would look same deliciously yammy… This cove art is so awesome, I just want to touch it!
~ Sorilla
The Kitchen Daughter is a beautiful book.
Oh, your review really makes me want to read this book. I will be adding it to my to-reads over at Goodreads so I don’t forget to look into it!
It is such a wonderful book, I do hope you enjoy it.
Oh I really really want to read this one!
It is a must read book.