The Summer Kitchen

The Summer Kitchen was a great Book!

Think About It: Image can mean many different things to many different people.  When it comes to image the size of house or family, type of house or car, clothes and accessories, the amount of money you make or spend, where you live, the type of friends and entertainment you host all matter.  Do you have an image?  What is your image?  How do you up keep this image?  How far would you go, or what would you be willing to do to keep this image intact?

Details: When prestige is the rule, and money is the exception to the rule, where friends are only friends when you have that money, and image is everything.  This is the world in which the Banks lived, that is until Mr. Banks ends up in jail, and his wife Nora is stuck cleaning up the mess.  But as she cleans up, disasters occur around every bend.  Nora and some newly acquired friends are put to the test and then some, as they discover how to be true to themselves, and how to over come their dependency to men, marriage, image and well the society they now find themselves thrust out of but unable to leave.  Can time and forgiveness really melt the ice that has formed around Nora's heart so that love and trust can be built back up or will she give into her physical need for intimate comfort, peace and fulfillment?

My Review: I bought this book late one night while out giving myself release from the busy life of a mother.  I was searching for something that would be fun to read, give me encouragement to continue being patient and keep my faith strong while my family goes through some major changes and important decisions.  I got exactly what I was looking for, but not in the way I was hoping.  I read this book in 1 week.  It took me about 30 pages to actually enjoy reading this novel.  But as the story unfolded my heart was truly touched.  I learned lessons right along with the main characters.  I found courage and peace in my own life by reading about Nora Banks and her family.  This is my new favorite read, and with the price I paid, I think its a great Mother's Day gift, or perfect for any woman!  This would make the perfect Book Club book for all the discussions that you can come up with.

Karen Weinreb pays great attention to details, I love the details of nature, the houses, the descriptions of intimate fantasies.  I love the details of all the baking, man I'm so craving some of those yummy sounding goodies mentioned in this book.

                                                                      My Rating    

Glass Castle Memoir

Details: Written by Jeannette Walls in 2005.  This is a memoir of Jeannette and her 3 siblings as they grew up in harsh unconventional ways.  Rex and Rose Mary Walls Jeannette's parents were poorer than poor, and lived on the go, in scary places, with little to no hygiene and with personal addictions that always came before the care of their children.  Rex is drunk addict to alcohol.  Rose Mary is a romantic artist addicted to sugar.  This book is being filmed as a movie.

Information:  This is not a happy story, this is not an uplifting story.  I read this as my book club's March book.   Within the first 10 pages there's so much language (swearing, vulgar, crude, and plain nasty language) that I had to skip a few pages until the language calmed down.  Not a great start to a story.  As I kept reading I kept hoping the story (life of Jeannette) would get better, happier, and safer.  But no such luck.  These Wall kids suffered more than most people even imagine could ever happen at all in the US.  Its so sad.  I cried a few times because its such a depressing story.  Throughout the whole book I hated Rex and Rose Mary!  What kind of parents would do such horrible things to their own children?  Then I became furious at all the adults at the schools these children went to for not investigating their story, even when they had the impression that something wasn't right.  I am so proud of and impressed with Jeannette and her siblings.  They are so strong, and true, as they were easily able to forgive and get over the horrible life they were born into.  I love that they've learned to work hard and have become successful!  Just seeing what they've gone through and how positive and strong they are is inspiring, but not enough for me to buy or reread this book ever again.  I don't know if I could handle the movie either.

Pros: The only thing that was positive about their story is that the kids were able to escape before more damage could have happened.  And in the end none of the Wall children hated, their parents.  They forgave their parents and even came to understand why their parent's lived the way they did.  I could never read this book again, because I don't like depressing, sad stories.  But if you can stomach this type of memoir than read it.  If you enjoy true stories, memoirs, and autobiographies this is perfect for you!  The plot is a swirling twist of the unexpected throughout the whole book.

Cons: I don't recommend this for the tender hearted, the weak stomached, the emotional woman, and its not recommended for anyone until the age of 16!  There is tons of really bad language, some worse than swear words.  There is sexual abuse, child abuse, child neglect, lying, stealing, smoking, drug use, sex, immoral behavior, alcohol, prostitution, child slavery (of Jeannette by her father), and graphic imagery of children getting badly hurt, and burned.

                                                                                My Rating

Here is an interview clip of Jeannette and her mother!  This is why I give this book a thumbs up.