Book 31 (2011): The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

This novel by Aimee Bender is an adult novel recommended for teens. It's... different.

I was pretty psyched about this book and have been waiting for months to get a copy. And I feel disappointed.

Nine year old Rose can taste people's emotions when she eats food they prepared. She leans this on her 9th birthday when she learns how disappointed her mother is with her life. She struggles with this new found part of her self, thinking it's a curse rather than a blessing. Soon she learns secrets of her family members and is burdened with the knowledge: her father is distant and scared; her mother is lonely; and her brother is angry and so introverted he can't function in society.

The story follows her from age 9 until adulthood, struggling along, trying to find her place and keep her mixed up family together.

I don't know what I was completely expecting but this wasn't it. I also feel the second half of the book wasn't as good as the first part. I feel that more than one person in the book having some sort of 'special' power was weak, especially since it was introduced toward the end and really served no major purpose.

I thought with an awesome concept and with a fabulous title, this book was going to be about a million times better, but it just didn't work for me, no matter how much I wanted to love it. (292 pages)

B