Even Hannah herself is sometimes narrow and wrong and needs to apologize. To which I say: Yes! That is the point of the book. It is also painful one Good Reads reviewer called out many of the characters for being narrow, wrong, and even anger-inducing. Some of the people in Hannah's life - Grandma Mimi being a wonderful exception- are struggling themselves in their own relationship to Judaism and having a 'Jew-ish' friend or child. (We do get a Recipe for an Apology that we would all do well to follow, and which nicely ties in with the Jewish themes.) She remained likeable even as she made some significant missteps with friends that required sincere apologies, a skill that at twelve, she is still mastering.

I enjoyed spending time with Hannah in all her imperfection. Our protagonist Hannah is full of life she's passionate about baking, loves her friends and family, and feels a tug toward her Jewish roots that she wants to explore. It was both entertaining to me as an adult and a fulfilling exploration of this subject- and again, somehow still age-appropriate! That's a lot to accomplish in one little book. Recipe for Disaster is charming and age-appropriate, but deals effectively with difficult real-world topics and doesn't shy away from complexity.

What a fantastic middle-grade book about a 12 year-old girl figuring out her Jewish identity! 5 stars. I also liked that this book was bittersweet because I think there are a lot of kids who can relate to that.Īnyway, I think this is an important read for young people!

My favorite characters were Vee, who was the new girl who is super punk and plays the flute and is also Jewish and very sure of herself, and Sam, the older brother. I also guessed why the mother doesn't talk to the aunt very early on, but I don't think it was really about the twist, but the emotional impact of it. He's such a jerk because his kid wants to go to culinary school. I didn't like the parents (I often don't in kidlit.) I'm glad they come around by the end, but for most of the story, they irritated me. I also found the description of Jewish culture to be incredibly beautiful and Hannah's journey to get closer to that side of her family was really impactful. I think it's important for young people to know that other people can't define your own identity for you. I think this is a really important book for young readers to have, even if they aren't Jewish, because it covers a lot of really important themes.

Recipe for disaster aimee lucido