The Recipe Club: Book Review

The Recipe Club is the story of two friends, Valerie and Lilly. Valerie is the daughter of an agoraphobic (afraid to leave the house) and a high school science teacher/inventor. Lilly is the daughter of a psychiatrist (who happens to be making house calls to treat Val's mother) and a singer/actress. Lilly's dad seems far more fond of Val than he does of Lilly, who, like her mother, is a singer. Valerie ends up as a doctor.

Starting when they are in sixth grade in 1964, the girls exchange letters, and with the letters, recipes. Most of the story is told in those letters. We follow the girls through teenaged angst, first boyfriends, losing their virginity, college, an abortion, a lesbian relationship, marriage and motherhood. We watch them learn their parents' secrets and finally get their lives in order (or so it seems). We see them go from girlhood chums to betrayal and hatred followed by a mature relationship.

I enjoyed the book but think I would have liked it more if I liked any of the characters. However, I didn't find any of them likable. Valerie and Lilly seemed to be Exhibit "A" in the "How to parent so as to produce messed up kids" book. The recipes in the book looked good, and I'll have to try some.

I'd like to thank the folks at FSB Media for providing a review copy of this book. At their website you can read other reviews and and excerpt from the book, including a recipe.

To purchase from Amazon: The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship