4 Stars
"On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice..." (Taken from RandomHouse.)
So, I keep vacillating on how to rate this book. The story line that follows Rose and her journey through coping with the unusual ability to read people through the food they make is interesting and poignant. And Aimee Bender's writing emphasizes Rose's solitude and internal struggles, making it much more meaningful as she gains each small triumph. HOWEVER, the story takes a huge (not to mention really bizarre) turn with Rose's older brother. (He can turn into a chair. Okay, that's an over-simplification as well as a spoiler, but it's more or less the gist.) I really, really enjoyed most of the book, but I felt like Bender pushes the suspended disbelief way too far, and that was so distracting that it ruined the book for me. Her writing was intriguing, though, so I would consider trying a different book.
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