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Comments (63)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 63 items
Oct 02, 2023katjespin rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
By god, this was just unrelentingly sad to me. A narrator with a dreadful "skill" that she slowly, painfully, learns to cope with, while her family members all show how incapable they are of coping with... practically anything. There's…
Aug 05, 2023pacl_teens rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender is a book that I can really only describe as sad. It's the kind of realistic fiction that's a little too realistic, letting the unfulfilling desires of real life run deep through the…
Mar 13, 2020SJZB2020 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book for the most part. The lack of quotation marks around the dialogue was distracting and annoying. The main story was well written and I totally understood the special gift she had to "taste" emotions. However, there were…
Jul 30, 2019
kate baer (one her favs)
Jun 05, 2019jennifurr rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This was one of the best books I've read recently. About mid way through the book I felt like part of the plot was "done", and a new part of the book revealed itself. It's about "special" ability, family relationships, fear. About being…
May 23, 2019sandyc_9 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I thought the language and imagery were simply lovely, and the sensitivity Bender treats her characters are heartfelt. I loved the first 1/3 I was just soaking in the character development with its hints of foreboding, but then it just…
May 22, 2019AnaGM rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
This could have been a really good book, and it started it out well, but then it went to the toilet with all the other waste
Jan 17, 2019goddessbeth rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I'm usually a fan of magical realism, because I enjoy whimsy now and then. Sometimes magical realism is in darker, grittier novels (like Broken Monsters), and that's very fun as well. But this....this just fell flat. I think the story…
Jan 13, 2019St_James rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Totally bizarre and somewhat cool. Super senses! Taste and Touch are the primary senses used by the main characters. Sort of spooky, but also thought provoking!
Dec 07, 2018LauraSteinert rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A fairy tale for adults, with a difficult to ascertain moral. It is worth the time investment (about 5 or 6 hours) to see if you agree with the one-star people or the five-star people. The writing itself is lovely, and if there had been…
Jan 17, 2018snarski rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
If this book were a food it would've been Pringles. Shoulda named it "The sadness of extremely boring, hollow people living in Los Angeles." Was 2010 a slow year for publishing?
May 26, 2017MoeWhoHides rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Okay, spoilers ahead: I gave this book 1 stars because while it started well, and had writing that flowed (easy to read and get lost in), the book lost me about 1/3 of the way in. I'm compelled to finish books I start unless they're…
Jan 03, 2017
Aimee Bender, the author of this book, writes her characters amazingly and they each develop in their own ways to become very well rounded. Rose Edelstein, the main character of this story, is a nine year old girl with an odd gift that she…
Jul 12, 2016QnVz rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The first third of the book was amazing--just the concept and trying to figure out where it was going...however it didn't finish as strongly to me and seemed more like a chronicle of different mental illnesses and how people may not…
dolenica
Apr 23, 2016
Am interested to read. It sound similar to The Cupcake Therapist, where the main character, a pastry chef, is able to get senses of tastes from being in presence of people to find out about them.
Jun 25, 2015dorami11 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
The story was interesting-ish enough to keep me reading to the end, but the writing style was intensely mundane, lacking of good vocabulary, and the message of the book left me feeling more empty than before I read it. I also really…
Jun 06, 2015mclarenbruce rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This was clearly a first novel for the author. Interesting idea, not fully fleshed out. Left me feeling a "Particular Sadness" for having read the book.
qlouie
Jun 01, 2015
Sounds very similar to Like Water for Chocolate
Mar 07, 2015GSPLAvery rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This was the kind of book that caught my interest right from the start. A really unique concept (tasting people's emotions through their food), and an interesting take on family dynamics. I was very pleasantly surprised by this one!
Apr 28, 2014dprodrig rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Easy to read, but really weird. A brother who disappears into a chair, a father who abhors hospitals, and grandmother who is just as strange and a grandfather with odd abilities of his own. Just a meandering tale with no purpose, other…
Cynthia_N
Mar 29, 2014Cynthia_N rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book felt similar to A Wrinkle In Time. Smart brother who loves science, misfit sister, and a touch of fantasy. It works! I enjoyed the book and while the ending was not quite what I hoped, I liked that it was expected and unexpected!
jamilad
Aug 10, 2013jamilad rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Definitely depressing but it's one of those books it's hard to put down..
african_violet13
Aug 04, 2013african_violet13 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The book didn't end the way I wanted it to.
Jul 19, 2013
A patron review from the Adult Summer Reading Game: I loved the concept of this book. As I was reading it, I realized I had read it already and forgot the storyline. I enjoyed it (again).
Indigo_Cobra_8
Jun 29, 2013Indigo_Cobra_8 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I honestly don't know why this book is getting such negative reviews. I really liked this book and thought it was interesting. Don't get fooled by the blurb that this is one of those books about a teenager coming of age, because it's…