Ruth Reichl

Tender at the Bone/ Comfort Me with Apples/ Garlic and Sapphires:

Tender at the Bone tells the story of Reichl’s childhood. Ruth started cooking to rescue her mother’s dinner guests from the awful food, propelling Ruth into the kitchen at a young age and laying the foundation for her future. Comfort Me With Apples outlines the demise of her first marriage and her first ventures into restaurant criticism, ending with her time as the restaurant critic and food editor at the Los Angeles Times. Seeing an opportunity, Reichl takes the available restaurant critic job at the New York Times, a job she describes in Garlic and Sapphires.

I read all three of these memoirs in quick succession for a Readers’ Advisory Workshop I will be facilitating soon. I adore these books. I had never read Reichl’s reviews in the New York Times or her other work, so I was pleasantly surprised at how down to earth and relatable she is. I would have thought that a celebrated restaurant critic would be pretentious and haughty. She’s quite the opposite. A bohemian who grew up in New York, then fled to first Michigan and then to Berkeley, Reichl really creates an impression that anything is possible. Her love of food comes through so strongly. And her use of food as a healing agent is something that I can completely understand.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Twelve-year-old Miranda is more than a little obsessed with the book A Wrinkle In Time. When she starts finding mysterious notes hinting at the future, a story unfolds that will not leave you disappointed. From ALA,”…Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future. These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot.” This years’ Newbery Medal winner, Stead has done a wonderful job telling Miranda’s story.

I loved this book. I was also obsessed with A Wrinkle In Time as a kid (who wasn’t?) and I appreciated the subtle details that Stead threw in. I haven’t read L’Engle in a long time. It was so nice to revisit it. A quick read, it would be great for reluctant readers.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

It’s hot, it’s summer, and Greg Heffley’s mom has decided that sleeping all day and playing video games is not an acceptable way to spend summer vacation. Dog Days follows Greg through his summertime adventures. You also find out how disturbing a pool locker room can be.

I do enjoy Greg Heffley’s antics, but this wasn’t as good as the first books in this series. Greg seems a little meaner. And sometimes you just want to smack him. Or, at least, I do, but I don’t really think that I’m in the demographic these books are written for…I’m definitely not a 4-7th grade boy.

An Off Year by Claire Zulkey

Cecily’s ready to go to college. All of her friends are going. But when Cecily and her father get to her dorm room on move-in day, she changes her mind. And she and her father start a silent journey back home. Cecily spends the next year figuring out what she wants to do with her life. She also discovers who she is and mends some bridges.

I liked this book, but I don’t think it was great. There are definitely some funny moments, but overall, it sort of fell flat. It would be good for teens who feel as ambivalent towards college as Cecily does.